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NO GROSS, NO CROWN : 



DISCOURSE 



SHEWING THE 



NATURE AND DISCIPLINE 



OF THE 



HOLY CROSS OF CHRIST; 

AKD THAT 

THE DENIAL OF SELF, 

AND DAILY BEARING OF CHRIST'S CROSS, IS THE ALONE 
WAY TO THE REST AND KINGDOM OF GOD. 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 

THE LIVING AND DYING TEST^J^ONIES " 

OF MANY ▲ -^ 

PERSONS OF FAME AND LEARNING^ 

BOTH OF ANCIEXT AND MODERN TIMES, IN FAVOUR OF THIS TREATISE 

IN TWO PARTS. 



BY WILLIAM PENN. 

>! 



'' And Jesus said unto his Disciples; If any man will come after me, let him deny hinxself, and take 
up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke iv. 23. 

" I have fought a good Fitrht, I have finished my Course, I have kept the Faith : henceforth there is 
laid up for me a CROW.n^ of Righteousness," &c. 1 Tim. iv. 7, 8. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY KIMBER, CONRAD, AND CO. No. 93, MARKET-STREET, 
AND No. 170, SOUTH SECOND-STREET. 

1807. 



PREFACE. 



Reader, 

THE great business of man's life is> to answer the 
end for which he lives ; and that is, to glorify God, 
and save his own soul : this is the decree of heaven, as 
old as the world. But so it is, that man mindeth no- 
thing less than what he should most mind ; and despi- 
sethto inquire into his own being, its original, duty and 
end ; choosing rather to dedicate his days (the steps he 
should make to blessedness) to gratify the pride, ava- 
rice, and luxury of his heart ; as if he had been born for 
himself, or rather given himself being, and so not sub- 
ject to the reckoning and judgment of a superior power. 
To this wild and lamentable pass hath poor mau 
brought himself, by his disobedience to the law of God 
in his heart, by doing that which he knows he should not 
do, and leaving undone what he knows he should do. 
And as long as this dis,ease continueth upon man, he 
will make his God his enemy, and himself incapable of 
the love and salvation that he hath manifested by his son, 
Jesus Christ, to the world* 

If, Reader, thou art such an one, my counsel to thee 

is, to retire into thyself^ and take a view of the condi- 

tion of thy soul ; for Christ hath given thee light with 

which to do it : search caxxfuUy and thoroughly ; thy 

B 



4 PREFACE. 

life is upon it ; thy soul is at stake. It is but once to 
be done ; if thou abusest thyself in it, the loss is irrepa- 
rable ; the world is not price enough to ransom thee : 
wilt thou then for such a world be-late thyself, over- stay 
the time of thy salvation, and lose thy soul ? Thou hast 
to do (I grant thee) with great patience ; but that also 
must have an end : therefore provoke not that God that 
made thee, to reject thee. Dost thou know what it is? 
It is Tophet, it is hell, the eternal anguish of the damn- 
ed. Oh ! Reader, as one knowing the terrors of the 
Lord, I persuade thee to be serious, diligent, and fer- 
vent about thy salvation ! aye, and as one knowing the 
comfort, peace, joy and pleasure of the ways of righte- 
ousness too, I exhort and invite thee, to embrace the re- 
proofs and convictions of Christ's light and spirit in thine 
own conscience, and bear the judgment, who hast 
wrought the sin. The fire burns but the stubble ; the 
wind blows but the chaff : yield up thy body, soul and 
spirit, to him that maketh all things new ; new heavens 
and new earth, new love, new joy, new peace, new works, 
a new life and conversation. Men are grown corrupt 
and drossy by sin, and they must be saved through fire, 
which purgeth it away ; therefore the word of God is 
compared to a fire, and the day of salvation to an oven ; 
and Christ himself to a refiner of gold, and purifier of 
silver. 

Come, Reader, hearken to me a while; I seek thy sal- 
vation ; that is my plot ; thou wilt forgive me. A re- 
finer is come near thee, his grace hath appeared to thee : 
it shews thee the world's lusts, and teacheth thee to deny 
them. Receive his leaven, and it will change thee ; his 
medicine, and it will cure thee : he is as infallible as 
free ; without money, and with certainty. A touch of 



PREFACE. 5 

his garmjent did it of old ; it will do it still ; his virtue 
is the same, it cannot be exhausted ; for in him the ful- 
ness dwells : blessed be God for his sufficiency. He 
laid help upon him, that he might be mighty to save all 
that come to God through him : do thou so, and he will 
change thee : aye, thy vile body like unto his glorious 
body. He is the great philosopher indeed, the wisdom 
of God, that turns lead into gold, vile things into things 
precious : for he maketh saints out of sinners, and almost 
gods of men. What rests to us then, that we must do, 
to be thus witnesses of his power and love ? This is the 
Crown : but where is the Cross ? Where is the bitter 
cup and bloody baptism ? Come, Reader, be like him ; 
for this transcendent joy lift up thy head above the world; 
then thy salvation will draw nigh indeed. 

Christ's Cross, is Christ's way to Christ's Crown. 
This is the subject of the following discourse ; first writ- 
ten during my confinement in the Tower of London, in 
the year 1668, now re-printed with great enlargements of 
matter and testimonies, that thou. Reader, may est be 
won to Christ ; and if won already, brought nearer to 
him. It is a path, God in his everlasting kindness guid- 
ed my feet into, in the flower of my youth, when about 
two and twenty years of age : then he took me by the 
hand and led me out of the pleasures, vanities, and 
hopes of the world. I have tasted of Christ's judg- 
ments, and of his mercies, and of the world's frowns, 
and reproaches : I rejoice in my experience and dedi- 
cate it to thy service in Christ. It is a debt I have long 
owed, and has been long expected : I have now paid it;, 
and delivered my soul. T© my country, and to the 
w^orld of christians I leave it : May God, if he please, 
make it effectual to them all, and turn their hearts from 



6 PREFACE. 

that envy, hatred and bitterness, they have one against 
another about worldly things ; (sacrificing humanity 
and charity to ambition and covetousness, for which they 
fill the earth with trouble and oppression) that receiving 
the spirit of Christ into their hearts (the fruits of which 
are love, peace, joy, temperance and patience^ brotherly 
kindness and charity) they may in body, soul and spirit, 
make a triple league against the world, the flesh and 
the devil, the only common enemies of mankind ; and 
having conquered them through a life of self-denial, by 
the power of the Cross of Jesus, they may at last attain 
to the eternal rest and kingdom of God. 

So desireth, so prayeth, 

Friendly Reader, 

Thy fervent christian friend, 

WILLIAM PENN. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



PART L 



CHAP. I. 

Sect. 1 , Of the necessity of the Cross of Christ in general ; yet 
the little regard christians have to it. 2. The degeneracy of 
Christendom from purity to lust, and moderation to excess. 
3. That worldly lusts and pleasures are become the care and 
study of christians, so that they have advanced upon the im- 
piety of infidels. 4. This defection a second part to the 
Jewish tragedy, and worse than the first: the scorn christians 
have cast on their Saviour. 5. Sin is of one nature all the 
world over ; sinners are of the same church, the deviPs chil- 
dren : profession of religion in wricked men, makes them but 
the worse. 6. A wolf is not a lamb, a sinner cannot be 
(whilst such) a saint. 7. The wicked will persecute the good ; 
this false christians have done to the true, for non-compli- 
ance with their superstitions : the strange carnal measures 
false christians have taken of Christianity ; the danger of that 
self-seduction. 8. The sense of that has obliged me to this 
discourse, for a dissuasive against the world's lusts, and an 
invitation to take up the daily Cross of Christ, as the way 
left us by him to blessedness. 9. Of the self-condemnation 
of the wicked j that religion and worship are comprised in 



,8 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

doing the will of God. The advantage good men have upon 
bad men in the last judgment. 10. A supplication for Christ- 
endom, that she may not be rejected in that great assize of 
the world. She is exhorted to consider, what relation she 
bears to Christ ; if her Saviour, how saved, and for what : 
what her experience is of that great work. That Christ came 
to save from sin, and wrath by tonsequence ; not save men in 
sin, but from it, and so the wages of it. 

Sect.1. 1 HOUGH the knowledge and obedience 
of the doctrine of the cross of Christ, be of infinite mo- 
ment to the souls of men ; for that is the only door to 
true christianit}', and that path the ancients ever trod to 
blessedness : yet with extreme affliction, let me say, it 
IS so little understood, so much neglected, and what is 
worse, so bitterly contradicted by the vanity, super- 
stition, and intemperance of professed christians, that 
we must either renounce to believe what the Lord Jesus 
hath told us, Luke xiv. 9.7. " That whosoever doth 
not bear his cross, and come after him, cannot be his 
disciple :" or, admitting that for truth, conclude, that 
the generality of Christendom do miserably deceive and 
disappoint themselves in the great business of Christi- 
anity and their own salvation. 

Sect. 2. For, let us be never so tender and charitable 
in the survey of those nations, that intitle themselves to 
any interest in the holy name of Christ, if we will but 
be just too, we must needs acknowledge, that after all 
the gracious advantages of light, and obligations to 
fidelity, which these latter ages of the world have re- 
ceived, by the coming, life, doctrine, miracles, death, 
resurrection and ascension of Christ, with the gifts of 
his Holy Spirit ; to which add the writings, labours, 
and martyrdom of his dear followers in all times, there 
seems very little left of Christianity but the name : which 
being now usurped by the old heathen nature and life, 
makes the professors of it but true heathens in disguise. 
For though they worship not the same idols, they wor- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 9 

ship Christ with the same heart : and they can never do 
otherwise, whilst they live in the same lusts. So that 
the unmortified christian and the heathen are of the same 
religion. For though they have difterent objects, to 
which they do direct their prayers, that adoration in both 
is but forced and ceremonious, and the deity they truly 
worship is the god of the world, the great lord of lusts: 
to him they bow with the w^hole powers of soul and 
sense. What shall we eat ? What shall we drink ? 
What shall we wear ? And how shall we pass away our 
time ? Which way may we gather wealth, increase our 
power, enlarge our territories, and dignify and perpetu- 
ate our names and families in the earth ? Which base 
sensuality is most pathetically expressed and comprised 
by the beloved apostle John, in these words : *' the lust 
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 
which (says he) are not of the Father, but of the world 
that lieth in wickedness."* 

Sect. 3. It is a mournful reflection, but a truth no 
confidence can be great enough to deny, that these 
worldly lusts fill up the study, care and conversation of 
wretched Christendom ! and which aggravates the mi- 
sery, they have grown with time. For as the world is 
older, it is worse ; and the examples of former lewd 
ages, and their miserable conclusions, have not deterred, 
but excited ours ; so that the people of this, seem im- 
provers of the old stock of impiety, and have carried it 
so much farther than example, that instead of advancing 
in virtue, upon better times, they are scandalously fall- 
en below the life of heathens. Their high-mindedness, 
lasciviousness, uncleanness, drunkenness, swearing, ly- 
ing, envy, backbiting, cruelty, treachery, covetousness, 
injustice, and oppression are so common, and commit- 
ted with such invention and excess, that they have 
stumbled and embittered infidels to a degree of scorn- 
ing that holy religion, to which their good example 
should have won their affections. 

a 1 John ii. 16. 



10 ^ NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Sect. 4. This miserable defection from primitive 
times, when the glory of Christianity was the purity of its 
professors, I cannot but call the second and worst part 
of the Jewish tragedy, upon the blessed Saviour of man- 
kind. For the Jews, from the power of ignorance, and 
the'extreme prejudice they were under to the unworldly 
way of his appearance, would not acknowledge him when 
he came, but for two or three years persecuted, and 
finally crucified him in one day. But the false chris- 
tians cruelty lasts longer : they have first, with Judas, 
professed him, and then, for these many ages, most 
basely betrayed, persecuted, and crucified him, by a 
perpetual apostacy in manners, from the self-denial, and 
holiness of his doctrine ; their lives giving the lie te 
their faith. These are they that the author of the epis- 
tle to the Hebrews tells us, " crucify to themselves the 
son of God afresh, and put him to open shame:'"" 
Vvdiose defiled hearts, John, in his Revelation, stiles, 
the streets of Sodom, and Egypt, spiritually so called, 
where he beheld the Lord Jesus crucified, long after he 
had been ascended. And as Christ said of old, a man's 
enemies arc those of his own house; so Christ's enemies 
now, are chiefly those of his own profession : '* they spit 
upon him, they nail and pierce him, they crown him 
with thorns, and give him gall and vinegar to drink. "^ 
Nor is it hard to apprehend ; for they that live in the 
same evil nature and principle the Jews did, that cruci- 
fied him outwardly, must needs crucify him inwardly ; 
since they that reject the grace now in their own hearts, 
are one in stock and generation with the hard-hearted 
Jews, that resisted the grace that then appeared in and 
bv Christ. ^ 

Sect. 5. Sin is of one nature all the world over ; for 
though a liar is not a drunkard, not a swearer a whore- 
monger, nor either properly a murderer ; yet they are 
all of a church ; all branches of the wicked root ; all of 
a kin. They have but one father, the devil, as Christ 

^' Heb, vi. 6. Rev, xl 8. <^ ^att. XKvii. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 11 

said to the professing Jews/ the visible church of that 
age : he slighted their pretensions to Abraham and Mo- 
ses, and plainly told them, that he that committeth sin, 
was the servant of sin. They did the devil's works, and 
therefore were the devil's children. The argument will 
always hold upon the same reasons, and therefore good 
still : *' his servants you are, saith Paul, whom you 
obey :"^ and saith John to the church of old, " let no 
man deceive you ; he that committeth sin is of the 
devil. "^ Was Judas ever the better christian, for crying, 
Hail, Master, and kissing Christ f ^ By no means : they 
were the signal of his treachery ; the token given, by 
which the bloody Jews should know and take him. He 
called him Master, but betrayed him ; he kissed, but 
sold him to be killed : this is the upshot of the false 
christian's religion. If a man ask them, Is Christ your 
Lord ? They will cry, God forbid else : yes, he is our 
Lord. Very well: But do you keep his command- 
ments ? No. How should we ? How then are you his 
disciples ? It is impossible, say they ; what ! would you 
have us keep his commandments ? No man can. What! 
impossible to do that, without which Christ hath made it 
impossible to be a christian ? Is Christ unreasonable ? 
Does he reap where he has not sown ;^' require where he 
has not enabled ? Thus it is, that with Judas they call 
him Master, but take part with the evil of the world to 
betray him ; and kiss and embrace him as far as specious 
profession goes ; and then sell him, to gratify the pas- 
sion that they most indulge. Thus, as God said of old, 
they make him serve with their sins, and for their sins 
too.^ 

Sect. 6. Let no man deceive his own soul ; *' grapes 
are not gathered of thorns, nor figs of thistles :"^ a wolf 
is not a sheep, nor is a vulture a dove. What form, peo- 
ple, or church soever thou art of, it is the truth of God 
to mankind, that they who have even the form of godli- 

<J John viii. 34 to 45. « Rom. vi. 16. f 1 John iii. 7, 8. 

g Matt, xxvi.49. '' Matt, xxv.24. ' Is.i. xUii. 24. 

'f Malt. vii. 16. 



12 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

ness, but (by their unmortified lives) deny the power 
thereof, make not the true, but false church : which 
though she intitle herself the lamb's bride, or church of 
Christ, she i^ that mystery or mysterious Babylon, fitly 
called by the Holy Ghost, the mother of harlots, and all 
abominations ;^ because degenerated from christian chas- 
tity and purity, into all the enormities of heathen Baby- 
lon : a sumptuous city of old time, much noted for the 
seat of the kings of Babylon, and at that time the place 
in the world of greatest pride and luxury. As she was 
then, so mystical Babylon is now, the great enemy of 
God's people. 

Sect. 7^ True it is, '^ they that are born of the flesh, 
hate and persecute them that are born of the spirit,""" 
who are the circumcision in heart. It seems they cannot 
own, nor worship God after her inventions, methods and 
prescriptions, nor receive for doctrine her vain tradi- 
tions, any more than they can comply with her corrupt 
fashions and customs in their conversation. The case be- 
ing thus, from an apostate she becomes a persecutor. It 
is not enough that she herself declines from ancient puri- 
ty, others must do so too. She will give them no rest, that 
will not partake with her in that degeneracy, or receive 
her mark. Are any wiser than she, than mother church ? 
No, no : nor can any make war with the beast she rides 
upon, those worldly powers that protect her, and vow 
her maintenance against the cries of her dissenters. 
Apostacy and superstition are ever proud and impatient 
of dissent ; all must conform or perish." Therefore the 
slain witnesses, and blood of the souls under the altar, 
are found within the walls of this mystical Babylon, this 
great city of false christians, and are charged upon her 
by die Holy Ghost, in the revelation. Nor is it strange 
that she should slay the servants, who first crucified the 
Lord : but strange and barbarous too, that she should 
kill her husband, and murder her Saviour, titles she 
seems so fond of, and that have been so profitable to her ; 

■^Rev, xtii. 5. m Qal, iv. 29. " Rev. \l 9. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 13 

and that she would recommend herself by, though with- 
out all justice. But her children are reduced so entirely 
under the dominion of darkness, by means of their con- 
tinued disobedience to the manifestation of the divine 
light in their souls, that they forget what man once m as, 
or they should now be ; and know not true and pure 
Christianity when they meet it, yet pride themselves to 
profess it. Their measures are so carnal and false about 
salvation, they call good evil, and evil good; they make 
a devil a christian, and a saint a devil. So that though 
the unrighteous latitude of their lives be matter of lamen- 
tation, as to themselves it is of destruction ; yet that 
common apprehension, that they may be children of 
God while in a state of disobedience to his holy com- 
mandments ; and disciples of Jesus, though they revolt 
from his cross ; and members of his true church, which 
is without spot or wrinkle, notwithstanding their-lives 
are full of spots and wrinkles; is, of all other deceptions, 
upon themselves, the most pernicious to their eternal 
condition. For they are at peace in sin, and under a 
security in their transgression. Their vain hope si- 
lences their convictions, and over-lays all tender motions 
to repentance : so that their mistake about their duty to 
God, is as mischievous as their rebellion against him. 

Thus they walk on precipices, and flatter themselves, 
till the grave swallows them up, and the judgment of the 
great God breaks the lethargy, and undeceives their 
poor wretched souls with the anguish of the wicked, as 
the reward of their work. ^ 

Sect. 8. This has been, is, and will be the doom of all 
worldly christians : an end so dreadful, that if there 
were nothing of duty to God, or obligation to men, be- 
ing a man, and one acquainted with the terrors of the 
Lord in the way and work of my own salvation, com- 
passion alone were sufiicient to excite me to this dissua- 
sive against the world's superstitions and lusts, and to 
invite the professors of Christianity to the knowlc dge and 
obedience of the daily cross of Christ, as the alone way, 
left by him, and appointed us to blessedness : that they 



14 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

who now do but usurp the name, may have the thing ; 
and by the power of the cross (to which they are now 
dead, instead of being dead to the world by it) may be 
made partakers of the resurrection that is in Christ Je- 
sus, unto newness of life. For they that are truly in 
Christ, that is redeemed by and interested in him, are 
new creatures. They have received a new will,^ such as 
does the will of God, not their own. They pray in 
truth, and do not mock God, when they say, '*thy will 
be done in earth, as it is in heaven.'* They have new 
affections, such as are set on things above,'' and make 
Christ their eternal treasure. New faith such as over- 
comes snares and temptations of the world's spirit in 
themselves, or as it appears through others : and lastly, 
new works, not of superstitious contrivance, or of hu- 
man invention, but the pure fruits of the spirit of Christ 
working in them, as love, joy, pe^ce, meekness, long- 
suffering, temperance, brotherly-kindness, faith, pa- 
tience, gentleness and goodness, against which there is 
no law ;^ and they that have not this spirit of Christ, and 
walk not in it, the apostle Paul has told us, are none of 
his ; but the wrath of God, and condemnation of the 
law, will lie upon them. For if '* there is no condemna- 
tion to them that are in Christ, who walk not after the 
flesh, but after the spirit,' "" which is Paul's doctrine ; 
they that walk not according to that Holy Spirit, by his 
doctrine, are not in Christ : that is, have no interest in 
him, nor just claim to salvation by him : and conse- 
quently there is condemnation to such. 

Sept. 9. And the truth is, the religion of the wicked 
is a lie : *' there is no peace, saith the prophet, to the 
wicked."^ Indeed there can be none, they are re- 
proved in their own consciences, and condemned in their 
own hearts, in all their disobedience. Go where they 
will, rebukes go with them, and oftentimes terrors too: 
for it is an offended God that pricks them, and who, by 

o Gal. vi. 15. p Col.iii. 1, 2, 3. q Gal. v. 22, 23. 

"^ Rom.viii. « Isa. xlviii. 22. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 15 

his light, sets their sins in order before them. Sometimes 
they strive to appease him, by their corporal framed de- 
votion and worship, but in vain; for true worshipping of 
God, is doing his will, which they transgress. The rest 
is a false compliment, like him that said he would go, and 
did not. Sometimes they fly to sports and company, to 
drown the reprover's voice, and blunt his arrows, to 
chase away troubled thoughts, and secure themselves out 
of the reach of the disquieter of their pleasures : but the 
Almighty first or last is sure to overtake them. There 
is no flying his final justice, for those that reject the 
terms of his mercy. Impenitent rebels to his law may 
then call to the mountains, and run to the caves of the 
earth for protection, but in vain : his all-searching eye 
will penetrate their thickest coverings, and strike up alight 
in that obscurity, which shall terrify their guilty souls ; 
and which they shall never be able to extinguish. Indeed 
their accuser is with them, they can no more be rid of 
him, than of themselves ; he is in the midst of them, 
and will stick close to them. That spirit which bears 
witness with the spirits of the just, will bear witness 
against theirs. Nay, their own hearts will abundantly 
come in against them ; and, *' If our heart condemn us, 
says the apostle John, God is greater, and knows all 
things :"^ that is, there is no escaping the udgments of 
God, whose power is infinite, if a man is not able to 
escape the condemnation of himself. It is at that day, 
proud and luxurious christians shall learn, that God is 
no respecter of persons ; that all sects and names shall 
be swallowed up in these two kinds, sheep and goats, 
just and unjust : and the very righteous must have a 
trial for it. Which made that holy man cry out, *' If 
the righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the wicked 
and ungodly appear?"^'' If their thoughts, words, and 
works must stand the test, and come under scrutiny be- 
fore the impartial judge of heaven and earth, how then 
should the ungodly be exempted ? No, we are told by 
him that cannot lie, many shall then even cry, Lord, 

« Matt. xxi. 3Q. u i John iii. 20. w i Pet. iv. l^. 



16 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

Lord, set forth their profession, and recount the works 
that have been done in his name, to make him propi- 
tious, and yet be rejected with this direful sentence, 
•* Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I know you 
not."^ As if he had said. Get you gone, you evil 
doers ; though you have professed me, I will not know 
you : your vain and evil lives have made you unfit for 
my holy kingdom ; get you hence, and go to the gods 
whom you have served ; your beloved lusts, which you 
have worshipped, and the evil world that you have so 
much coveted and adored : let them save you now, if 
they can, from the wrath to come upon you, which is the 
wages of the deeds you have done. Here is the end of 
their work that build upon the sand, the breath of the 
judge will blow it down ; and woful will the fall thereof 
be. Oh, it is now, that the righteous have the better of 
the wicked ! which made an apostate cry in old time, 
*' Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like unto his.'*^ For the sentence is changed, and 
the judge smiles : he casts the eye of love upon his own 
sheep, and invites them with a " come ye blessed of my 
Father,"^ that through patient continuance in well-doing, 
have long waited for immortality : you have been the 
true companions of my tribulations and cross, and with 
unwearied faithfulness, in obedience to my holy will, 
valiantly endured to the end, looking to me, the author 
of your precious faith, for the recompense of reward, 
that I have promised to them that love me, and faint not : 
*' O enter ye into the joy of your Lord, and inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." 

Sect. 10, O Christendom ! my soul most fervently 
prays, that after all thy lofty professions of Christ and 
his meek and holy religion, thy unsuitable and un- christ- 
like life may not cast thee at that great assize of the 
world, and lose thee so great salvation at last. Hear me 
once, I beseech thee. Can Christ be thy Lord, and thou 

^ Mat. vii. 23. v Numb, xxiii. 10. -^ Mat. xxv. 34. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. U 

not obey him ? Or, canst thou be his servant, and never 
serve him ? "Be not deceived, such as thou sowest 
shalt thou reap :"' he is none of thy Saviour, whilst thou 
rejectest his grace in thy heart, by which he should save 
thee. Come, what has he saved thee from ? Has he 
saved thee from thy sinful lusts, thy worldly affections 
and vain conversations ? If not, then he is none of thy 
Saviour. For though he be offered a Saviour to all, yet 
he is actually a Saviour to those only, that are saved by 
him ;^nd none are saved by him, that live in those evils, 
by which they are lost from God, and which he came to 
save them from. 

It is sin that Christ is come to save man from, and 
death and wrath, as the wages of it : but those that are 
not saved, that is, delivered by the power of Christ in 
their souls, from the power that sin has had ov^r them, 
can never be saved from the death and wrath, that are 
the assured wages of the sin they live in. 

So that, look how far people obtain victory over those 
evil dispositions and fleshly lusts they have been addict- 
ed to, so far they are truly saved, and are witnesses of the 
redemption that comes by Jesus Christ, His name 
shews this work : *' and thou shalt call his name Jesus, 
for he shall save his people from their sins."^ '* And 
lo (said John of Christ) the lamb of God that takes 
away the sin of the world !'"" that is, behold him, whom 
God hath given to enlighten people, and for salvation 
to as many as receive him, and his light and grace in 
their hearts, and take up their daily cross, and follow 
him : such as rather deny themselves the pleasure of 
fulfilling their lusts, than sin against the knowledge he 
has given them of his will ; or do that they know they 
ought not to do. 

» Gal. vi. r. b Matt. i. 21. ' John i. 29. 



18 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 



CHAP. II. 

Sect. 1. By this Christendom may see her lapse, how foul it 
is ; and next, the worse for her pretence of Christianity. 2. 
But there is mercy with God upon repentance, and propitia- 
tion in the blood of Jesus. 3. He is the light of the world, 
that reproves the darkness, that is, the evil of the world ; and 
he is to be known within. 4. Christendom, like the inn of 
old, is full of other guests ; she is advised to believe in, re- 
ceive and apply to Christ. 5. Of the nature of true faith ; 
it brings power to overcome every appearance of evil : this 
leads to consider the cross of Christ, which has been so much 
wanted. 6. The apostolic ministry, and end of it j its 
blessed effect ; the character of apostolic times. 7. The 
glory of the cross, and its triumph over the heathen world. 
A measure to Christendom, what she is not, and should be. 
8. Her declension, and cause of it. 9. The miserable effects 
that followed. 10. From the consideration of the cause, the 
cure may be more easily known, viz. not faithfully taking up 
the daily cross ; then faithfully taking it daily up, must be the 
remedy. 

Sect. 1.13 Y all which has been said, O Christen- 
dom ! and by that better help, if thou wouldst use it, 
the lamp the Lord has lighted in thee, not utterly ex- 
tinct, it may evidently appear, first, how great and foul 
thy backsliding has been, who, from the temple of the 
Lord, art become a cage of unclean birds ; and of an 
house of prayer, a den of thieves, a synagogue of Satan, 
and the receptacle of every defiled spirit. Next that, 
under all this manifest defection, thou hast nevertheless 
valued thy corrupt self upon thy profession of Christian- 
ity and fearfully deluded thyself with the hopes of salva- 
tion. The first makes thy disease dangerous, but the 
last almost incurable. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 19 

Sect. 2. Yet because there is mercy with the God of 
bowels, that he may be feared, and that he takes no de^ 
light in the eternal death of poor sinners, no, though back- 
sliders themselves, but is willing all should come to the 
knowledge and obedience of the truth, and be saved. 
He has sent forth his son a propitiation, and given him 
a Saviour to take away the sins of the whole world, that 
those that believe and follow him may feel the righteous- 
ness of God in the remission of their sins, and blotting 
out their transgressions for ever.^ Now, behold the re- 
medy ! an infallible cure, one of God's appointing ; a 
precious elixir indeed, that never failed ; and that uni- 
\^ersal medicine which no malady could ever escape. - 

Sect. 3. But thou wilt say, what is Christ, and where 
is he to be found ? And how received and applied in or- 
der to this mighty cure ? I tell thee then : first, he is 
the great spiritual light of the world, that enlightens 
every one that comes into the world ; by which he mani- 
fests to them their deeds of darkness and wickedness, 
and reproves them for committing them. Secondly, 
he is not far away from thee, as the apostle Paul said of 
God to the Athenians : behold (says Christ himself) '' I 
stand at the door and knock ; if any man hear my voice, 
and open the door, I will come in to him, and slip with 
him, and he with me."^ What door can this be, but that 
of the heart of man ? 

Sect. 4. Thou, like the inn of old, hast been full of 
other guests : thy affections have entertained other lov- 
ers : there has been no room for thy Saviour in thy souL 
Wherefore salvation is not yet come into thy house, 
though it is come to thy door, and thou hast been often 
proffered it, and hast professed it long. But if he calls, if 
he knocks still, that is, if his light yet shines, if it reproves 
thee still, there is hopes thy day is not over ; and that 
repentance is not hid from thine eyes ; but his love is 

« Ezek. xviii. 20, 23, 24. Matt. i. 21. Luke i. 77. Rom, iii. 25. Heb. ra. 
24 to 28. 1 John ii. 1, 2. 
^ Acts xvii. 27. Rev. iii. 20. 

D 



20 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part 1; 

after thee still, and his holy invitation continues to save 
Ihee. 

Wherefore, O Christendom ! believe, receive, and 
apply him rightly ; this is of absolute necessity, that thy 
soul may live for ever with him. He told the Jews, '* If 
you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins ; 
and whither I go ye cannot come."^ And because they 
believed him not, they did not receive him nor any be- 
nefit by him : but they that believed him, received him: 
'' and as many as received him," his own beloved disci- 
ple tells us, " to them gave he power to become the sons 
of God, which are born not of blood, nor of the will of 
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.'"^ That is, 
who are not children of God after the fashions, prescrip- 
tions, and traditions of men, that call themselves his 
church and people (which is not after the will of flesh 
and blood, and the invention of carnal man, unacquaint- 
ed with the regeneration and power of the Holy Ghost) 
but of God ; that is, according to his will, and the work- 
ing and sanctification of his spirit and word of life in 
them. And such were ever well versed in the right ap- 
plication of Christ, for he was made to them indeed pro- 
pitiation, reconciliation, salvation, righteousness, re- 
demption and justification. 

So I say to thee, unless thou believest, that he that 
stands at the door of thy heart and knocks, and sets thy 
sins in order before thee, and calls thee to repentance, 
be the Saviour of the world, thou wilt die in thy sins, 
and where he is gone, thou wilt never come. For if 
thou believest not in him, it is impossible that he should 
do thee good, or eflPect thy salvation : Christ works not 
against faith but by it. It is said of old, he did not 
many mighty works in son;e places, because the people 
believed not in him.^ So that if thou truly believest in 
him, thine ear will be attentive to his voice in thee, and 
the door of thine heart open to his knocks. Thou wilt 
yield to the discoveries of his light, and the teachings of 
his grace will be very dear to thee, 

^ John viii. 22, 24. ^ John i. 12, 13. ' Mark vi. 5. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 21 

Sect. 5. It is the nature of true faith to beget an holy 
fear of offending God, a deep reverence to his precepts, 
and a most tender regard to the inward testimony of his 
spirit, as that, by which his children, in all ages, have 
been safely led to glory. For as they that truly believe, 
receive Christ in all his tenders to the soul, so, as true 
it is, that those who receive him thus, with him, re- 
ceive power to become the sons of God : that is, an in- 
ward force and ability to do whatever he requires i 
strength to mortify their lusts, controul their affections, 
resist evil motions, deny themselves, and overcome the 
world in its most enticing appearances. This is the life 
of the blessed Cross of Christ, which is the subject oT 
the following discourse, and what thou, O man, must 
take up, if thou intendest to be the disciple of Jesus. 
Nor canst thou be said to receive Christ, or believe in 
him, whilst thou rejectest his cross. For as receiving 
of Christ is the means appointed of God to salvation, so 
bearing thy daily cross after him is the only true testi- 
mony of receiving him ; and therefore it is enjoined by 
him, as the great token of discipleship, " Whosoever 
will be my disciple, let him take up his daily cross, and 
follow me.''^ 

This, Christendom, is that thou hast so much wanted, 
^nd the want of which has proved the only cause of thy 
miserable declension from pure Christianity. To consi- 
der which well, as it is thy duty, so it is of great use to 
thy restoration. 

For as the knowledge of the cause of any distemper 
guides the physician to make a right and safe judgment 
in the application of his medicine, so it will much en> 
lighten thee in the way of thy recovery, to know and 
weigh the first cause of thy spiritual lapse and malady 
that has befallen thee. To do which, a general view of 
thy primitive estate, and consequently of their work that 
first laboured in the christian vineyard, will be needful ; 
and if therein something be repeated, the weight and 
dignity of the subject will bear it without the need of 
an apology. 

f Mat. xvi. 24. 



22 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

Sect. 6. The work of apostleship, we are told by a 
prime labourer in it, was to turn people " from darkness 
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God."° That 
is, instead of yielding to the temptations and motions of 
Satan, who is the prince of darkness (or wickedness, the 
one being a metaphor to the other) by whose power 
their understandings w^ere obscured, and their souls held 
in the service of sin, they should turn their minds to the 
appearance of Christ, the light and Saviour of the world ; 
who by his light shines in their souls, and thereby gives 
them a sight of their sins, and discovers every tempta- 
tion and motion in them unto evil, and reproves them 
when they give way thereunto ; that so they might be- 
come the children of light, and walk in the path of 
righteousness. And for this blessed work of reforma- 
tion, did Christ endue his apostles with his spirit and 
power, that so men might not longer sleep in a security 
of sin and ignorance of God, but awake to righteous- 
ness, that the Lord Jesus might give them life : that is, 
that they might leave off sinning, deny themselves the 
pleasure of wickedness, and by true repentance turn 
their hearts to God, in well-doing, in which is peace. 
And truly, God so blessed the faithful labours of these 
poor mechanics, yet his great ambassadors to mankind, 
that in a few years many thousands, that had lived with- 
out God in the world, without a sense or fear of him, 
lawlessly, very strangers to the work of his spirit in 
their hearts, being captivated by fleshly lusts, were in- 
wardly struck and quickened by the word of life, and 
made sensible of the coming and power of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, as a judge and lawgiver in their souls; by 
whose holy light and spirit, the hidden things of dark- 
ness were brought to light and condemned, and pure 
repentance from those dead works begotten in them, 
that they might serve the living God in newness of spi- 
rit. So that thenceforward they lived not to themselves, 
neither were they carried away of those former divers 
lusts^ by which they had been seduced from the true 

e Acts, xxvi. 18. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 23 

fear of God ; but the law of the spirit of hfe, by which 
they overcame the law of sin and death, was their de- 
light, and therein did they meditate day and night. ^ 
Their regard towards God was not taught by the 
precepts of men any longer, but from the knowledge 
they had received by his own work and impressions in 
their souls.' They had not quitted their old masters, 
the world, the flesh, and the devil, and delivered up 
themselves to the holy guidance of the grace of Christ, 
that taught them to deny ungodliness, and the world's 
lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
present life ;^ this is the Cross of Christ indeed ; and 
here is the victory it gives to them that take it up : by 
this cross they died daily to the old life they had lived ; 
and by holy watchfulness against the secret motions of 
evil in their hearts, they crushed sin in its conceptions, 
yea, in its temptations. So that they, as the apostle John 
advised them, kept themselves, and the evil one touched 
them not.^ 

For the light, which Satan cannot endure, and with 
which Christ had enlightened them, discovered him in 
all his approaches and assaults upon the mind, and the 
power they received through their inward obedience to 
the manifestations of that blessed light, enabled them to 
resist and vanquish him in all his stratagems. And thus 
it was, that where once nothing was examined, nothing 
went unexamined. Every thought must come to judg- 
ment, and the rise and tendency of it be also well ap- 
proved, before they allow it any room in their minds. 
There was no fear of entertaining enemies for friends, 
whilst this strict guard was kept upon the very wicket 
of their soul. Now the old heavens and earth, that is, 
the old earthly conversation, and old carnal, that is Jew- 
ish or shadowy worship, passed away apace, and every 
day all things became new. " He was no more a Jew, 
that was one outwardly, nor that circumcision that was 
in the flesh ; but he was the Jew, that was one inwardly ; 
and that circumcision, which was of the heart, in the 

h Rom. viii. 2. « Isa. sxix. 13. ''Tit. 11, 12. ' 1 John v. 18. 



24 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of man 
but of God."™ 

Sect. 7. Indeed the glory of the Cross shined so con- 
spicuously through the self-denial of their lives who 
daily bore it, that it struck the heathen with astonish- 
ment, and in a small time so shook their altars, discre- 
dited their oracles, struck the multitude, invaded the 
court and overcame their armies, that it led priests, ma- 
gistrates, and generals, in triumph after it, as the tro- 
phies of its power and victory. 

And while this integrity dwelt with christians, mighty 
was the presence and invincible that power that attended 
them : it quenched fire, daunted lions, turned the edge 
of the sword, outfaced instruments of cruelty, convic- 
ted judges, and converted executioners. In fine, the 
ways their enemies took to destroy, increased them ; and 
by the deep wisdom of God, they were made great pro- 
moters of the truth, who in all their designs endeavour- 
ed to extinguish it. Now not a vain thought nor an 
idle word, nor an unseemly action was permitted : no, 
not an immodest look ; no courtly dress, gay apparel, 
complimental respects, or personal honours ; much less 
those lewd immoralities, and scandalous vices now in 
vogue with christians, could find either example or con- 
nivance among them." Their care was not how to sport 
away their precarious time, but how to redeem it, that 
they might have enough to work out their great salva- 
tion, which they carefully did, with fear and trembling;^ 
not with balls and masks, with play-houses, dancing, 
feasting, and gaming, no, not to make sure of their 
heavenly calling and election, was much dearer to them, 
than the poor and trifling joys of mortality. For they 
having with Moses seen him that is invisible, and found 
that his loving-kindness was better than life, the peace 
of his spirit than the favour of princes ; as they feared 
not Caesar's wrath, so they chose rather to sustain the 
afflictions of Christ's true pilgrims, than enjoy the plea- 

«" Rom. ii. 28. 29. « Heb. xi. 32, to the end. Isa. Ixui. 2. Dan. iil 

12. to the end. Dan. vi. 16. to the end. « Eph. v. 15, 16. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 25 

sures of sin, that were but for a season ; esteeming his 
reproaches of more value than the perishing treasures of 
the earth. And if the tribulations of Christianity were 
more eligible than the comforts of the world, and the 
reproaches of one than all the honour of the other; 
there was then surely no temptation in it, that could 
shake the integrity of Christendom. 

Sect. 8. By this short draught of what Christendom 
was, thou mayest see, O Christendom, what thou art 
not, and consequently what thou onghtest to be. But 
how comes it, that from a Christendom that was thus 
meek, merciful, self-denying, suffering, temperate, holy, 
just, and good, so like to Christ, whose name she bore, 
wje find a Christendom now, that is superstitious, idola- 
trous, persecuting, proud, passionate, envious, malici- 
ous, selfish, drunken, lascivious, unclean, lying, swear- 
ing, cursing, covetous, oppressing, defrauding, with all 
other abominations known in the earth, and that to an 
excess justly scandalous to the worst of heathen ages, 
surpassing them more in evil than in time ; I say, how 
comes this lamentable defection ? 

I lay this down, as the undoubted reason of this de- 
generacy, to wit, the inward disregard of thy mind to 
the light of Christ shining in thee ; that first shewed 
thee thy sins, and reproved them, and that taught and 
enabled thee to deny and resist them. For as thy fear 
towards God, and holy abstinence from unrighteousness 
was, at first, not taught by the precepts of men, but by 
that light and grace, which revealed the most secret 
thoughts and purposes of thine heart, and searched the 
most inward part of thy belly, setting thy sins in order 
before thee, and reproving thee for them, not suffering 
one unfruitful thought, word or work of darkness, to go 
unjudged, so when thou didst begin to disregard that 
light and grace, to be careless about that holy watch, 
that was once set up in thine heart, and didst not keep 
centinel there, as formerly, for God's glory and thy own 
peace ; the restless enemy of man's good quickly took 
advantage of this slackness, and often surprised thee with 



23 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

temptations, whose suitableness to thy inclinations made 
his conquest over thee not difficult. 

In short, thou didst omit to take up Christ's holy 
yoke, to bear thy daily cross ; thou wast careless of thy 
aiFections, and kepi no journal or check upon thy ac- 
tions ; but didst decline to audit accounts, in thy own 
conscience, with Christ thy light, the great bishop of thy 
soul, and judge of thy works, whereby the holy fear de- 
cayed, and love waxed cold; vanity abounded, and duty 
became burdensome. Then up came formality instead 
of the power of godliness ; superstition, in place of 
Christ's institution : and whereas Christ's business was, 
to draw off the minds of his disciples from an outward 
temple, and carnal rites and services, to the inward and 
spiritual worship of God, suitable to the nature of di- 
vinity, a worldly, human, pompous worship is brought 
in again, and a worldly priesthood, temple and altar re- 
established. Now it was that the '* sons of God once 
more saw the daughters of men were fair :"p that is, the 
pure eye grew dim, which repentance had opened, that 
saw no comeliness out of Christ ; and the eye of lust be- 
came unclosed again, by the god of the world ; and 
those worldly pleasures, that make such as love them for- 
get God (though once despised for the sake of Christ) 
began now to recover their old beauty and interest in thy 
affections ; and from liking them, to be the study, care, 
and pleasure of thy life. 

True, there still remained the exterior forms of wor- 
ship, and a nominal and oral reverence to God and 
Christ ; but that was all : for the offence of the holy cross 
ceased, the power of godliness was denied, self-denial 
lost ; and though fruitful in the invention of ceremoni- 
ous ornaments, yet barren in the blessed fruits of the 
Spirit. And a thousand shells cannot make one kernel, 
or many dead corps one living man. 

Sect. 9. Thus religion fell from experience to tradi- 
tion, and worship from power toiorm, from life to letter; 

p Gen. vi. 2. 



Part 1. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 27 

that instead of putting up lively and powerful requests, 
animated by the deep sense of want, and the assistance 
of the Holy Spirit, by which the ancients prayed, wrest- 
led and prevailed wuth God ; behold a by -rote mump- 
simus, a dull and insipid formality, made up of corporal 
bowings, and cringings, garments and 'furnitures, per- 
fumes, voices and music, fitter for the reception of 
some earthly prince, than the heavenly worship of the 
only true and immortal God, who is an eternal, invisible 
spirit. 

But thy heart growing carnal, thy religion did so too ; 
and not liking it as it was, thou fashionedst it to thy 
liking ; forgetting what the holy prophet said, *' the sa- 
crifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,'"! 
and what James saith, '* Ye ask, and ye receive not," 
(why ?) '* because ye ask amiss ;'"^ that is, with an heart 
that is not right, but insincere, unmortified, not in the 
faith that purifies the soul, and therefore can never re- 
ceive what is asked : so that a man may say with truth, 
thy condition is worse by thy religion, because thou art 
tempted to think thyself the better for it, and art not. 

Sect. 10. Well; by this prospect that is given thee, of 
thy foul fall from primitive Christianity, and the true 
cause of it, to wit, a neglect of the daily cross of Christ, 
it may be easy for thee to inform thyself of the way of 
thy recovery. 

For look, at what door thou wentest out, at that door 
thou must come in : and as letting fall, and forbearing 
the daily cross lost thee ; so taking up, and enduring 
the daily cross, must recover thee. It is the same way, 
by which the sinners and apostates become the disciples 
of Jesus. *' Whosoever, (says Christ) will come after 
me, and be my disciple, let him deny himself, and take 
up his daily cross, and follow me.'" Nothing short of 
this will do ; mark that, for as it is sufficient so is it in> 
dispensible : no crown, but by the Cross ; no life eter- 



^ Prov. XV. 8, r James iv. 3. 

s Matt. xvi. 24. Mark viii. 34. Luke is. 23, & \\v 27. 

E 



28 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

nal, but through death : and it is but just, that those 
evil and barbarous affections, that crucified Christ afresh,^ 
should, by his holy cross be crucified. Blood requires 
blood ; his cross is the death of sin, that caused his 
death ; and he the death of death, according to that pas- 
sage, O death ! I will be thy death !^ 



-^ 



CHAP. III. 

Sect. 1. What the cross of Christ is ? A figurative speech, 
but truly the divine power, that mortifies the world. 2. It 
is so called by the apostle Paul to the Corinthians. 3. Where 
it is the cross appears, and must be borne ? Within, where the 
lusts are, there thty must be crucified. 4, Experience 
teaches every one this, to be sure Christ asserts it, from with- 
in comes murder, &c. and that is the house where the strong- 
man must be bound. 5. How is the cross to be borne ? The 
way is spiritual, a denial of self, the pleasure of sin, to please 
God and obey his will, as manifested to the soul by the light 
he gives it. 6. This shews the difficulty, yet the necessity 
of the cross. 

1 HE daily cross being then, and still, O Christen- 
dom, the way to glory ; that the succeeding matter, 
which wholly relates to the doctrine of it, may come 
with most evidence and advantage upon thy conscience, 
it is most seriously to be considered by thee. 
First, What the cross of Christ is ? 
Secondly, Where the cross of Christ is to be taken 
up ? 

* Hos. xUi. 14. 1 Cor. xv. 55. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 29 

Thirdly, How, and after what manner it is to be 
borne ? 

Fourthly, What is the great work and business of the 
cross ? In which 

The sins it crucifies, with the mischiefs that attend 
them, will be at large expressed. 

Fifthly, and lastly, I shall add many testimonies from 
living and dying persons, of great reputation either for 
their quality, learning, or piety, as a general confirma* 
tion of the whole tract. 

To the first, what is the cross of Christ ? 

Sect. 1. The cross of Christ is a figurative speech, 
borrowed fi*om the outward tree, pr wooden cross, on 
which Christ submitted to the will of God, in permit- 
ting him to suffer death at the hands of evil men. So 
that the cross mystical, is that divine grace and power, 
which crosses the carnal wills of men, and gives a con- 
tradiction to their corrupt affections, and that constant- 
ly opposeth iiself to the inordinate and fleshly appetite 
of their minds, and so may be justly termed the instru- 
ment of man's holy dying to the world, and being made 
conformable to the will of God. For nothing else can 
mortify sin, or make it easy for us to submit to the 
divine will, in things otherwise very contrary to our 
own. 

Sect. 2. The preaching of the cross therefore in pri- 
mitive times was fitly called by Paul, that famous and 
skilful apostle in spiritual things, the power of God ; 
though to them that perish, then, as now, foolishness. 
That is, to those that were truly weary and heavy laden, 
and needed a deliverer; to whom sin was burdensome 
and odious, the preaching of the cross, by which sin was 
to be mortified, was, as to them, the power of God, or 
a preaching of the divine power, by which they were 
made disciples of Christ, and children of God : and it 
wrought so powerfully upon them, that no proud or 
licentious mockers could put them out of love with it, 



so NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

But to tljQse that walked in the broad way, in the full 
latitude of their lusts, and dedicated their time and care 
to the pleasure of their corrupt appetites, to whom all 
yoke and bridle WTre and are intolerable, the preach- 
ing of the cross was, and is, foolishness : to which I may 
add, in the name but of too many now-a-days, and the 
practice ridiculous ; embraced by none, if they may be 
believed, but half-witted people of stingy and singular 
tempers, affected by the hypochondry, and oppressed 
with the power of melancholy ; for all this, and more, is 
bestowed upon the life of the blessed cross of Christ, in 
the persons of those who truly bear it, by the very pro- 
fessors and pretended admirers of it. 

Sect. 3.. Well, but tticn where does this cross appear, 
and must it be taken up ? 

I answer within : that is, in the heart and soul ; for 
where the sin is, the cross must be. Now, all evil comes 
from within : this Christ taught. *' From within (saith 
Christ) out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, 
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, 
wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphe- 
my, pride, foolishness : all these evils come from with- 
in, and defile the man."^ 

The heart of man is the seat of sin, and where he is 
defiled, he must be sanctified ; and where sin lives, there 
it must die : it must be crucified. Custom in evil hath 
made it natural for men to do evil ; and as the soul rules 
the body, so this corrupt nature sways the whole man : 
but still, it is all from within. 

Sect. 4. Experience teaches every son and daughter 
of Adam an assent to this ; for the enemies temptations 
are ever directed to the mind, which is within : if they 
take not, the soul sins not ; if they are embraced, lust 
is presently conceived (that is, inordinate desires) " lust 
conceived, brings forth sin ; and sin finished (that is, 
acted j brings forth death."** Here is both the cause 
and the effect, the very genealogy of sin, its rise and end. 

^ Mark vii. 21, 22, 23. _ b James i. 15. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CUOWN. 31 

In all this, the heart of evil man is the devil's mint, 
his work-house, the place of his residence, where he ex- 
ercises his power and art. And therefore the redemption 
of the soul is aptly called, the destruction of the works 
of the devil, and bringing in of everlasting righteous- 
ness.^ When the Jews would have defamed Christ's 
miracle of casting out devils, by a blasphemous impu- 
tation of it to the power of Beelzebub, he says, *' That 
no man can enter a strong man's house, and spoil his 
goods, till he first bind the strong man.''^ Which as it 
shews the contrariety that was between Beelzebub, and 
the power by which he dispossessed him ; so it teaches 
us to know, that the souls of the wicked are the devil's 
house, and that his goods, his evil works, can never be 
destroyed, till first he that wrought them, and keeps the 
house, be bound. All which makes it easy to know, 
where the cross must be taken up, by which alone the 
strong man must be bound, his goods spoiled, and his 
temptations resisted : this is, within, in the heart of 
man* 

Sect. 5. But in the next place, how, and in what man- 
ner is the cross to be daily borne ? 

The way, like the cross, is spiritual : that is, an in- 
ward submission of the soul to the will of God, as it is 
manifested by the light of Christ in the consciences of 
men : though it be contrary to their own inclinations. 
For example ; when evil presents, that which shews the 
evil does also tell them they should not yield to it ; and 
if they close with its counsel, it gives them power to 
escape it. But they that look and gaze upon the temp- 
tation, at last fall in with it, and are overcome by it ; the 
consequence of which is guilt and judgment. There- 
fore as the cross of Christ is that spirit and power in 
men, though not of men, but of God, which crosseth 
and reproveth their fleshly lusts and afiections ; so the 
way of taking up the cross is, an entire resignation of 
€oul to the discoveries and requirings of it ; not to con- 

^ 1 John iii. 8. ^ Mark ii?. 27. 



32 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

suit their worldly pleasure, or carnal ease, or interest 
(for such are captivated in a moment) but continually 
to watch against the very appearances of evil, and by the 
obedience of faith, that is, of true love to and confidence 
in God, cheerfully to offer up, to the death of the cross, 
that evil part, that Judas in themselves, which, not en- 
during the heat of the siege, and being impatient in the 
hour of temptation, would, by its near relation to the 
tempter, more easily betray their souls into his hands. 

Sect. 6. O this shews to every experience, how hard 
it is to be a true disciple of Jesus ! the way is narrow 
indeed, and the gate very strait, where not a word, no, 
not a thought must slip the watch, or escape judgment : 
such circumspection, such caution, such patience, such 
constancy, such holy fear and trembling. This gives an 
easy interpretation to that hard saying," flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God :"e those that are 
captivated with fleshly lusts and affections ; for they can- 
not bear the cross; and they that cannot endure the 
cross, must never have the crown. To reign, it is ne- 
cessary first to suffer.^ 

« Mat. xxiv. 42. xxv. 13. xxvi, 38, 43. ' Phil. ii. 12. 1 Th. iii. 5. 
1 Cor. XV. 50. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 33 



CHAP. IV. 



Sect. 1. What is the great work of the cross ? The answer to 
this of great moment. 2. The work of the cross is self- 
denial. 3. What was the cup and cross of Christ ? 4. What 
is our cup and cross ? 5. Our duty is to follow Christ as 
our captain. 6. Of the distinction upon self, a lawful and 
unlawful self. 7. What the lawful self is. 8. That is to be 
denied in some cases, by Christ's doctrine and example. 9. 
By the apostles pattern. 10. The danger of preferring law- 
ful self above our duty to God. 1 1 . The reward of self- 
denial^ an excitement to it. 12. This doctrine as old as 
Abraham. 13. His obedience of faith memorable. 14. Job 
a great instance of self-denial, his contentment. 15. Moses 
also a mighty example, his neglect of Pharoah's court. 16. 
His choice. 17. The reason of it, viz. the recompense of 
reward. 18. Isaiah no inconsiderable instance, who of a 
courtier became an holy prophet. 19. These instances con- 
cluded with that of holy Daniel, his patience and integrity, 
and the success they had upon the king. 20. There might 
be many mentioned to confirm this blessed doctrine. 21. 
All must be left for Christ, as men would be saved. 22. 
The way of God is a way of faith and self-denial. An ear- 
nest supplication and exhortation to all to attend upon these 
things. 

But, fourthly, what is the great work and business 
of the cross, respecting man ? 

Sect. 1. This indeed is of that mighty moment to be 
truly, plainly, and thoroughly answered, that all that 
went before seems only to serve for preface to it ; and 
miscarrying in it, to be no less than a misguidance of the 
soul about its way to blessedness. I shall therefore pur 



34. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

sue the question, with God's help, and the best know- 
ledge he hath given me, in the experience of several 
years discipleship. 

The great work and business of the cross of Christ, 
in man, is self-denial ; a word of as much depth in it- 
self, so of sore contraction to the world ; little under- 
stood, but less embraced by it ; yet it must be borne for 
all that. The Son of God is gone before us, and by the 
bitter cup he drank, and baptism he suffered, has left us 
an example, that we should follow his steps. Which 
made him put that hard question to the wife of Zebedee 
and her two sons, upon her soliciting that one might sit 
at his right, and the other at his left hand in his king- 
dom ; *' are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall 
drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism I am bap- 
tized with?'"^ It seems their faith was strong; they 
answered, v/e are able. Upon which he replied, *' Ye 
shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the 
baptism I am baptized with ;" but their reward he left to 
his father. 

Sect. 3. What was his cup he drank, and baptism he 
suffered ? I answer ; they were the denial and offer ing 
up of himself by the eternal spirit to the will of God, un- 
dergoing the tribulations of his life, and agonies of his 
death, upon the cross, for man's salvation. 

Sect. 4. What is our cup and cross that we should 
drink and suffer ? They are the denying and offering up 
of ourselves, by the same spirit, to do or suffer the will 
of God for his service and glory : which is the true life 
and obedience of the cross of Jesus : narrow still, but 
before, an unbeaten way. For when there was none to 
help, not one to open the seals, to give knowledge, to 
direct the course of ^oor man's recovery, he came in the 
greatness of his love and strength, and though clothed 
with the infirmities of a mortal man; being within for- 
tified by the Almightiness of an immortal God, he 

J Malt, x:c, 31, 23, Ty. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN* 35 

travelled through all the straits and difficulties of huma- 
nity ; and first, of all others, trod the untrodden path to 
blessedness. 

Sect. 5. O come let us follow him, the most unwea- 
ried, the most victorious captain of our salvation ! to 
whom all the great Alexanders and mighty Caesars of 
the world are less than the poorest soldiers of their 
camps could be to them. True, they were all great 
princes of their kind, and conquerors too, but on very 
different principles. For Christ made himself of no 
reputation to save mankind ; but these plentifully ruin- 
ed people, to augment theirs. They vanquished others, 
not themselves ; Christ conquered self, that ever van- 
quished them ; of merit therefore the most excellent 
prince and conqueror. Besides, they advanced their 
empire by rapine and blood, but he by suffering and 
persuasion ; he never by compulsion, they always by 
force prevailed. Misery and slavery followed all their 
victories ; his brought greater freedom and felicity to 
those he overcame. In all they did, they sought to 
please themselves ; in all he did, he aimed to please his 
Father, who is God of gods, King of kings, and Lord 
of lords. 

It is this most perfect pattern of self-denial we must 
follow, if ever we will come to glory ; to do which, 
let us consider self-denial in its true distinction and 
extent. 

Sect. 6. There is a lawful and unlawful self, and both 
must be denied, for the sake of him, that in submission 
to the will of God counting nothing dear, that he might 
save us. And though the world be scarcely in any part 
of it at that pass, as yet to need that lesson of the de- 
nial of lawful self, that every day most greedily sacri- 
fices to the pleasure of unlawful self: yet to take the 
whole thing before me, and for that it may possibly 
meet with some that are so far advanced in this spiritual 
warfare, as to receive some service from it, I shall at 
least touch upon it. 

F 



36 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Sect. 7. The lawful self, which we are to deny, is 
that conveniency, ease, enjoyment and plenty, which 
in themselves are so far from being evil, that they are 
the bounty and blessings of God to us : as husband, 
wife, child, house, land, reputation, liberty, and life 
itself; these are God's favours, which we may enjoy 
with lawful pleasure, and justly improve as our honest 
interest. But when God requires them, at what timfe 
soever the lender calls for them, or is pleased to try our 
aiFections by our parting with them ; I say, w^hen they 
are brought in competition with him, they must not he 
preferred, they must be denied. Christ himself de- 
scended from the glory of his Father, and willingly 
made himself of no reputation among men, that he 
might make us of some with God *, and, from the qua- 
lity of thinking it no robbery to be equal with God,^ he 
humbled himself to the poor form of a servant ; yea, the 
ignominious death of the cross, that he might deliver us 
an example of pure humility, and entire submission to 
the will of our heavenly Father. 

Sect. 8. It is the doctrine he teaches us in these 
words : ** He that loveth father or mother, son or 
daughter, more than me, he is not worthy of me."' 
Again, " Whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not 
all that he hath, cannot be my disciple."^ And he plain- 
ly told the young rich man, that if he would have eternal 
life, he should sell all, and follow him : a doctrine sad 
to him, as it is to those that like him, for all their high 
pretences to religion, in truth love their possessions 
more than Christ. This doctrine of self-denial is the 
condition to eternal happiness : '' He that will come 
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, 
and follow me."^ Let him do as I do : as if he had 
said, he must do as I do, or he cannot be as I am, the 
Son of God. 



h Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7, 8. i Matt. x. 37. Luke xiv. 33. 

^ Mark K. 21, 22. i Matt. xvi. 24. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 37 

Sect. 9. This made those honest fishermen quit their 
lawful trades, and follow him, when he called them to 
it ; and others, that waited for the consolation of Israel, 
to offer up their estates, reputations, liberties, and also 
lives to the displeasure and fury of their kindred, and 
the government they lived under, for the spiritual ad- 
vantage that accrued to them, by their faithful adherence 
to his holy doctrine. True, many would have excused 
their following of him in that parable of the feast : some 
had bought land, some had married wives, and others 
had bought yokes of oxen, and could not come ;"" that 
is, an immoderate love of the world hindered them ; 
their lawful enjoyments from servants, became their 
idols ; they worshipped them more than God, and would 
not quit them to come to God. But this is recorded 
to their reproach : and we may herein see the power of 
self upon the worldly man, and the danger that comes 
to him by the abuse of lawful things. What, thy wife 
dearer to thee than thy Saviour ! and thy land and oxen 
preferred before thy soul's salvation ! O beware, that thy 
comforts prove not snares first, and then curses ; to 
over-rate them, is to provoke him that gave them to 
take them away again ; come and follow him that giveth 
life eternal to the soul. 

Sect. 10. Wo to them that have their hearts in their 
earthly possessions 1 for when they are gone, their hea- 
ven is gone with them. It is too much the sin of the 
best part of the world, that they stick in the comforts of 
it : and it is lamentable to behold how their affections 
are bemired and entangled with their conveniencies and 
accommodations, in it. The true self denying man is 
a pilgrim ; but the selfish man is an inhabitant of the 
world ; the one uses it, as men do ships, to transport 
themselves, or tackle in a journey, that is, to get home ; 
the other looks no farther, whatever he prates, than to 
be fixed in fulness and ease here, and likes it so well, 
that if he could, he would not exchange. However, 

» Luke xiv. 18, 19, 20. 



38 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

he will not trouble himself to think of the other world, 
till he is sure he must live no longer in this : but then, 
alas ! it will prove too late ; not to Abraham, but to 
Dives, he must go ; the story is as true as sad. 

Sect. 11. But on the other hand, it is not for nought 
that the disciples of Jesus deny themselves : and indeed, 
Christ himself had the eternal joy in his eye : for the 
joy that was set before him, says the author to the He- 
brews, he endured the cross ; that is, he denied himself, 
and bore the reproaches and death of the wicked : and 
despised the shame, to wit, the dishonour and derision 
of the world. It made him not afraid nor shrink, he 
contemned it : and is set down on the right hand of the 
throne of God." And to their encouragement, and 
great consolation, when Peter asked him, what they 
should have that had forsaken all to follow him ? he an- 
swered them, *' Verily I say unto you, that ye which 
have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of 
man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit 
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Is- 
rael, "° that were then in apostacy from the life and pow- 
of godliness. This was the lot of his disciples ; the 
more immediate companions of his tribulations, and first 
messengers of his kingdom. But the next that follows 
is to all : *' And every one that hath forsaken houses, 
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or 
children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an 
hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." It was 
this recompense of reward, this eternal crown of righte- 
ousness, that in every age has raised, in the souls of the 
just, an holy neglect, yea, contempt of the world. To 
this is owing, the constancy of the martyrs, as to their 
blood the triumph of the truth. 

Sect. 12. Nor is this a new doctrine ; it is as old as 
Abraham. P In several most remarkable instances, his 
life was made up of self-denial. First, in quitting his 

« Heb xii. 2. <> Matt, six. 27, 28, 29. p Gen. xii. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 39 

own land, where we may well suppose him settled in 
the midst of plenty, at least sufficiency : and why ? Be- 
cause God called him. Indeed this should be reason 
enough ; but such is the world's degeneracy, that in 
fact it is not : and the same act, upon the same induce- 
ment, in any now, though praised in Abraham, would 
be derided. So apt are people not to understand what 
they commend ; nay, to despise those actions, when 
they meet them in the people of their own times, which 
they pretend to admire in their ancestors. 

Sect. 13. But he obeyed : the consequence was, that 
God gave him a mighty land. This was the first reward 
of his obedience. The next was, a son in his old age ; 
and which greatened the blessing, after it had been in 
nature, past the time of his wife's bearing of children. q 
Yet God called for his darling, their only child, the joy 
of their age, the son of a miracle, and he upon whom 
the fulfilling of the promise made to Abraham did de- 
pend. For this son, 1 say, God called : a mighty trial, 
that which, one would have thought, might very well 
have overturned his faith, and stumbled his integrity : 
at least have put him upon this dispute in him- 
self : this command is unreasonable and cruel ; it is the 
tempter's, it cannot be God's. For, is it to be thought 
that God gave me a son to make a sacrifice of him ? 
That the father should be butcher of his only child ? 
Again, that he should require me to offer up the son of 
his own promise, by whom his covenant is to be perform- 
ed ? this is incredible. I say, thus Abraham might 
naturally enough have argued, to withstand the voice of 
God, and indulge his great affections to his beloved 
Isaac. But good old Abraham that knew the voice that 
had promised him a son, had not forgot to know it, 
when It required him back again -J he disputes not, 
though it looked strange, and perhaps with some sur- 
prize and horror, as a man. He had learned to be- 
lieve, that God that gave him a child by a miracle, 

'I Gen, xviii. r Gen. xxi. 



40 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

could work another to preserve or restore him. His 
affections could not balance his duty, much less over- 
come his faith ; for he received liim in a way that 
would let him doubt of nothing that God had promised 
of him. 

To the voice of this Almightiness he bows, builds an 
altar, binds his only son upon it, kindles the fire, and 
stretches forth his hand to take the knife; but the angel 
stopped the stroke. " Hold, Abraham, thy integrity is 
proved." What followed ? A ram served, and Isaac 
was his again. This shows how little serves, where all 
is resigned, and how mean a sacrifice contents the Al- 
mighty, where the heart is approved. So that it is not 
the sacrifice that recommends the heart, but the heart 
that gives the sacrifice acceptance. 

God often touches our best comforts, and calls for 
that which we most love, and are least willing to part 
with. Not that he always takes it utterly away, but to 
prove the soul's integrity, to caution us from excesses, 
and that we may remember God, the author of those 
blessings we possess, and live loose to them. I speak 
my experience ; the way to keep our enjoyments, is to 
resign them, and though that be hard, it is sweet to see 
them returned, as Isaac was to his father Abraham, with 
more love and blessing than before. O stupid world ! O 
worldly christians ! Not only strangers, but enemies to 
this excellent faith ! and whilst so, the reward of it you 
can never know. 

Sect. 14. But Job pressed hard upon Abraham ; his 
self-denial also was very signal. For when the messen- 
gers of his afflictions came thick upon him, one doleful 
story after another, till he was left as naked as when he 
w^as born ; the first thing he did, he fell to the ground, 
and worshipped that power, and kissed that hand that 
stripped him; so far from murmuring, that he concludes 
his losses of estate and children with these words : 
^' Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked 
shall I return : the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 41 

away, blessed be the name of the Lord."" O the deep 
faith, patience and contentment of this excellent man : 
one would have thought, this repeated news of ruin had 
been enough to have overset his confidence in God : 
but it did not : that stayed him. But indeed he tells us 
why ; his Redeemer lived : *' I know (says he) that my 
Redeemer lives.'% And it appeared he did : for he had 
redeemed him from the world : his heart was not in his 
worldly comforts ; his hope lived above the joys of time, 
and troubles of mortality, not tempted by the one nor 
shaken by the other ; but firmly believed, *' that when 
after his skin worms should have consumed his body, 
yet with his eyes he should see God." Thus was the 
heart of Job both submitted to, and comforted in, the 
will of God. 

Sect. 15. Moses is the next great example in sacred 
story for remarkable self-denial, before the times of 
Christ's appearance in the flesh. He had been saved, 
when an infant, by an extraordinary Providence, and it 
seems by what followed, for an extraordinary service : 
Pharaoh's daughter, whose compassion was the means 
of his p' "servation when the king decreed the slaughter 
of the Hebrew males, took him for her son, and gave 
him the education of her father's court.'* His own 
graceful presence and extraordinary abilities, joined with 
her love to him and interest in her father to promote 
him, must have rendered him, if not capable of succes- 
sion, at least of being chief minister of affairs under that 
wealthy and powerful prince. For Egypt was then what 
Athens and Rome were after, the most famous for learn- 
ing, arts, and glory. 

Sect. 16. fiut Moses, ordained for other work, and 
guided by a better star, an higher principle, no sooner 
came to years of discretion, than the impiety of Egypt 
and the oppressions of his brethren there, grew a bur- 
then too heavy for him to bear. And though so wise 

5 Job. i. 21, - Job. xix. 25, 26. « Exod. ii. 1—11, 



42 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

and good a man could not want those generous and 
grateful resentments that became the kindness of the 
king's daughter to him ; yet he had also *' seen that 
God that was invisible,' \^ and did not dare to live in 
the ease and plenty of Pharaoh's house, whilst his 
poor brethren were required " to make brick without 
straw. '"^ 

Thus the fear of the Almighty taking deep hold of 
his heart, he nobly refused to be called the son of Pha- 
raoh's daughter, and chose rather a life of affliction with 
the most despised and oppressed Israelites, and to be 
the companion of their temptations and jeopardies, 
" than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ;" es- 
teeming the reproaches of Christ, which he suffered for 
making that unwordly choice, greater riches than all the 
treasures of that kingdom. 

Sect. 17. Nor was he so foolish as they thought him; 
he had reason on his side : for it is said, " He had an 
eye to the recompense of reward ;" he did but refuse a 
lesser benefit for a greater. In this his wisdom trans- 
cended that of the Egyptians ; for they made the pre- 
sent world their choice, as uncertain as the weather, 
and so lost that which has no end. Moses looked deeper 
and weighed the enjoyments of this life in the scales of 
eternity, and found they made no weight there. He go- 
verned himself, not by the immediate possession, but 
the nature and duration of the reward. His faith cor- 
rected his aifections, and taught him to sacrifice the 
pleasure of self to the hope that he had of a future more 
excellent recompense. 

Sect. 18. Isaiah was no inconsiderable instance of 
this blessed self-denial ; who of a courtier became a pro- 
phet, and left the worldly interests of the one for the 
faith, patience, and sufferings of the other. For his 
choice did not only lose him the favour of men ; but 
their wickedness, enraged at his integrity to God, in 

w Heb. xi. 24, 27. ^ Exod. v. 7, 16. y Dorotheas in his lives of 

the prophets. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. A& 

his fervent and bold reproofs of them, made a martyr 
of him in the end. For they barbarously sawed him 
asunder in the reign of king Manasses.'' Thus died that 
excellent man, and commonly called the Evangelical 
prophet* 

Sect. 19. I shall add, of many, one example more, 
and that is from the fidelity of Daniel ; an holy and wise 
young man, that when his external advantages came in 
competition with his duty to Almighty God, he relin- 
quished them all : and instead of being solicitous how 
to secure himself, as one minding nothing lesSj he was, 
with utmost hazard of himself, most careful how to 
preserve the honour of God, by his fidelity to his will. 
And though at the first it exposed him to ruin, yet, as 
an instance of great encouragement to all, that like him 
will choose to keep a good conscience in an evil time, at 
last it advanced him greatly in the world ; and the God 
of Daniel was made famous and terrible through his per- 
severance, even in the eyes of heathen kings. 

Sect. 20. Vrhat shall I say of all the rest, who, count- 
ing nothing dear that they might do the will of God, 
abandoned their worldly comforts, and exposed their 
ease and safety, as often as the heavenly vision called 
them, to the wrath and malice of degenerate princes, and 
an apostate church ?* More especially Jeremiah, Eze- 
kiel, and Micah, that after they had denied themse ves 
in obedience to the divine voice, sealed up their testi- 
mony with their blood. 

Thus was self-denial the practice and glory of the 
ancients, that were predecessors to the coming of Christ 
in the flesh ; and shall we hope to go to heaven without 
it now, when our Saviour himself is become the most 
excellent example of it ? And that not as some would 
fain have it, viz, " for us, that we need not," but for 
us, that we might deny ourselves, and so be the true, 
followers of his blessed example. 

■'■ Dorotheus, ih » 1 Pet. ii. 20, 21, 2?. 



44 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

Sect. 21. Whoever therefore thou art, that wouldest 
do the will of God, hut faintest in thy desires from the 
opposition of worldly considerations ; remember I tell 
thee, in the name of Christ, that he that prefers father 
or mother, sister or brother, wife or child, house or 
land, reputation, honour, office, liberty or life, before 
the testimony of the light of Jesus in his own conscience, 
shall be rejected of him, in the solemn and general in- 
quest upon the world, when all shall be judged, and 
receive according to the deeds done, not the profession 
made, in this life. It was the doctrine of Jesus, " that 
if thy right hand oifend thee, thou must cut it off; and 
if thy right eye offend thee, thou must pluck it out :^" 
that is, if the most dear, the most useful and tender 
comforts thou enjoyest, stand in thy soul's way, and in- 
terrupt thy obedience to the voice of God, and thy 
conformity to his holy will revealed in thy soul, thou art 
engaged under the penalty of damnation to part with 
them. 

Sect. 22. The way of God is a way of faith ; as dark 
to sense, as mortal to self. It is the children of obedi- 
ence, who count with holy Paul, all things dross and 
dung, that they may win Christ, and know and walk in 
this narrow way. Speculation will not do, nor can re- 
fined notions enter ; " the obedient only eat the good of 
this land :'' " They that do his will,'"^ says the blessed 
Jesus, shall know of my doctrine ; them he will instruct. 
There is no room for instruction, where lawful self is 
lord, and not servant. For self cannot receive it : that 
which should, is oppressed by self; fearful, and dares 
not. O what will my father or mother say ? How will 
my husband use me ? Or, finally, what will the magis- 
trate do with me ? For though I have a most powerful 
persuasion, and clear conviction upon my soul, of this or 
that thing, yet considering how unmodish it is, what 
enemies it has, and how strange and singular I shall 

^ Matt. V. 29, 30. <= Isa. i. 19, John vii. 17. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 45 

seem to them, I hope God will pity my weakness ; if I 
sink, I am but flesh and blood ; it may be hereafter he 
may better enable me ; and there is time enough. Thus 
selfish, fearful man. 

But deliberating is ever worst ; for the soul loses in 
parly ; the manifestation brings power with it. Never 
did God convince people, but upon submission, he 
empowered them. He requires nothing without ability 
to perform it : that were mocking not saving of men. 
It is enough for thee to do thy duty, that God shews 
thee thy duty ; provided thou closest with that light 
and spirit, by which he gives thee that knowledge. 
They that want power, are such as do not receive Christ 
in his convictions upon the soul ; and such will always 
want it : but such as do, they receive power, like those 
of old, to become the children of God, through the pure 
obedience of faith. 

Sect. 23. Wherefore, let me beseech you, by the love 
and mercy of God, by the life and death of Christ, by 
the power of his spirit, and the hope of immortality, 
that you, whose hearts are established in your temporal 
comforts, and so lovers of self more than of these hea- 
venly things, would '*let the time past suffice:" that 
yuu would not think it enough to be clear of such im- 
pieties, as too many are found in, whilst your inordinate 
love of lawful things has denied your enjoyment of them, 
and drawn your hearts from the fear, love, obedience 
and self-denial of a true disciple of Jesus, Tack about 
then, and hearken to the still voice in thy conscience ; 
it tells thee thy sins, and of misery in them. It gives a 
lively discovery of the very vanity of the world, and 
opens to thy soul some prospect of eternity, and the 
comforts of the just that are at rest. If thou adherest to 
this, it will divorce thee from sin and self: thou wilt 
soon find, that the power of its charms exceed that of the 
wealth, honour and beauty of the world, and finally will 
give thee that tranquillity, which the storms of time can 
never shipreck nor disorder. Here all thine enjoyments 



46 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

are blest ; though small, yet great by that presence that 
is within them. 

Even in this world the righteous have the better of it, 
for they use the world without rebuke, because they do 
not abuse it. They see and bless the hand that feeds 
and clothes, and preserves them. And as by beholding 
him in all his gifts, they do not adore them, but him ; 
so the sweetness of his blessings that gives them, is an 
advantage such have upon those that see him not. Be- 
sides, in their increase they are not lifted up, nor in 
their adversities are they cast down : and why ? Be- 
cause they are moderated in the one, and comforted in the 
other, by his divine presence. 

In short, heaven is the throne, and the earth but the 
footstool, of that man that hath self under foot. And 
those that know that station will not easily be moved ; 
such learn to number their days, that they may not be 
surprised with their dissolution ; and to *' redeem their 
time, because their days are evil;"' remembering that 
they are but stewards, and must deliver up their ac- 
counts to an impartial judge. Therefore, not to self, 
but to him they live, and in him die, and are blessed 
with them that die in the Lord. And thus I conclude 
my discourse of the right use of lawful self, 

d Eph. V. 15, 16. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 4; 



CHAP. V. 



Sfxt. 1. Of unlawful self, It is twofold, 1st. In religion. 2d. In 
morality. 2. Of those that are most formal, superstitious and 
pompous in worship. 3. God's rebuke of carnal apprehensions. 
4. Christ drew off' his disciples from the Jewish exterior wor- 
ship, and instituted a more spiritual one. 5. Stephen is plain 
and full in this matter. 6. Paul refers the temple of God 
twice to man. 7. Of the cross of these worldly w^orshippers. 
8. Flesh and blood make their cross, therefore cannot be cru- 
cified by it. 9. They are yokes w ithout restraint. 10. Of 
the gaudiness of their cross, and their respect to it. 11. A 
recluse life no true gospel abnegation. 12. A comparison 
between Christ's self-denial and theirs : his leads to purity in 
the world, theirs to voluntary imprisonment, that they might 
not be tempted of the world. The mischief w^hich that exam- 
ple, followed, would do to the world. It destroys useful so- 
ciety, honest labour. A lazy life the usual refuge of idleness, 
poverty, and guilty age. 13. Of Christ's cross in this case. 
The impossibility that such an external application can re- 
move an internal cause. 14. An exhortation to the men of 
this belief, not to deceive themselves. 

Sect. I. I AM now come to unlawful self, which, 
more or less is the immediate concernment of much the 
greater part of mankind. This unlawful self is twofold. 
1st, That which relates to religious worship : 2dly, That 
which concerns moral and civil conversation in the world. 
And they are both of infinite consequence to be consi- 
dered by us. In which I shall be as brief as I may, 
with ease to my conscience, and no injury to the mat- 
ter. 

Sect. 2. That unlawful self in religion, that ought to 
be mortified by the cross of Christ, is man's invention 



48 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

and performance of worship to God, as divine, which is 
not so either in its institution or performance. In this 
great error, those people have the van, of all, that attri- 
bute to themselves the name of Christians, that are most 
exterior, pompous, and superstitious in their worship ; 
for they do not only miss exceedingly, by a spiritual un- 
preparedness, in the way of their performing worship to 
God Almighty, who is an eternal spirit ; but the worship 
itself is composed of what is utterly inconsistent with the 
very form and practice of Christ's doctrine, and the apos- 
tolical example. For whereas that was plain and spiri- 
tual, this is gaudy and worldly : Christ's most inward 
and mental ; theirs most outward and corporeal ; that 
suited to the nature of God, who is a spirit ; this accom- 
modated to the most carnal part. So that instead of ex- 
cluding flesh and blood, behold a worship calculated to 
gratify them : as if the business were not to present 
God with a worship to please him, but to make one to 
please themselves. A worship dressed with such stately 
buildings, and imagery, rich furniture and garments, 
rare voices and music, costly lamps, wax-candles and 
perfumes ; and all acted with that most pleasing variety 
to the external senses, that art can invent, or cost pro- 
cure : as if the world were to turn Jew or Egyptian a- 
gain : or that God was an old man, indeed, and Christ 
a little boy, to be treated with a kind of religious mask, 
for so they picture him in their temples ; and too many 
in their minds. And the truth is, such a worship may 
very well suit such an idea of God : for when men can 
think him such an one as themselves, it is not to be 
wondered, if they address to him, and entertain him in 
a way that would be most pleasing from others to them- 
selves. 

Sect. 3. But what said the Almighty to such a sen- 
sual people of old, much upon the like occasion ? " Thou 
thoughtest I was such an one as thyself, but I will re- 
prove thee, and set thy sins in order before thee. Now 
consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in 
pieces, and there be none to deliver. But to him that 



Part L NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 49 

ordcreth his conversation aright, will I shew the salva- 
tion of God."* This is the worship acceptable to him, 
" To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with 
God ;" for he that ** searcheth the heart and tries the 
reins of man, and sets his sins in order before him, who is 
the God of the spirits of all flesh, "^ looks not to the exter- 
nal fabric, but internal frame of the soul, and inclination of 
the heart. Nor is it to be soberly thought, that he, who 
is " clothed with divine honour and majesty, who covers 
himself with light, as with a garment, who stretches out 
the heavens like a curtain, who layeth the beams of his 
chambers in the deep, who maketh the clouds his chari- 
ots, and who walks upon the wings of the wind, who 
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire, 
who laid the foundation of the earth that it should not be 
moved for ever," can be adequately worshipped by 
those human inventions, the refuge of an apostate peo- 
ple, from the primitive power of religion, and spiritua- 
lity of christian worship. 

Sect. 4. Christ drew off his disciples from the glory 
and worship ofthe outward temple, and instituted a more 
inward and spiritual worship, in which he instructed his 
followers, '* Ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at 
Jerusalem (says Christ to the Samaritan woman) worship 
the Father. God is a spirit, and they that worship him, 
must worship him in spirit and in truth.'"" As if he had 
said : for the sake of the weakness of the people, God 
descended in old time, to limit himself to an outward time, 
place, temple and service, in and by which he would be 
worshipped : but this was during men's ignorance of his 
omnipresence, and that they considered not what God 
is, nor where he is. But I am come to reveal him to as 
many as receive me. And I tell you that God is a spirit, 
and he will be worshipped in spirit and in truth. People 
must be acquainted with him as a spirit, consider him, 
and worship him as such. It is not that bodily worship, 
nor these ceremonious services, in use among you now, 

» Psa!. I 21, 22, 23. ^ Mic. vi. 8. ' John iv. 21, 24 



50 NO CROSS, NO CMOWN. I^art 1. 

that will serve, or give acceptance With this God that is 
a spirit : no, you must obey his spirit that strives with 
you, to gather you out of the evil of the world ; that by 
bowing to the instructions and commands of his spirit 
in your own souls, you may know what it is to worship 
him as a spirit ; then you will understand, that it is not 
going to this mountain, nor Jerusalem, but to do the 
will of God, to keep his commandments ; and com- 
mune with thine own heart, and sin not, take up thy 
cross, meditate in his holy law, and follow the example 
of him whom the Father hath sent. 

Sect. 5. Wherefore Stephen, that bold and constant 
martyr of Jesus, thus told the Jews, when a prisoner at 
their bar for disputing about the end of their beloved 
temple, and its services, but falsely accused of blasphemy, 
" Solomon (said Stephen) built God an house; howbeit, 
God dwelleth not in temples made with hands ; as saith 
the prophet, d Heaven is my throne, and earth is my 
footstool ; what house will ye build me, saith the Lord ? 
Or what is the place of my rest ? Hath not mine hands 
made all these things ?"^ Behold a total overthrow to 
all worldly temples, and their ceremonious appendences! 
the martyr follows his blow upon those apostate Jews, 
who were of those times, the pompous, ceremonious, 
worldly worshippers : " Ye stiff-necked and uncircum- 
cised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy 
Ghost ; as did your fathers, so do ye.'' As if he had 
told them, no matter for your outward temple, rites, and 
shadowy services, your pretensions to succession in na- 
ture from Abraham, and by religion from Moses ; you 
are resisters of the spirit, gainsayers of its instructions : 
you will not bow to its counsel, nor are your hearts right 
towards God ; you are the successors of your father's 
iniquity ; and though verbal admirers, yet none of the 
successors of the prophets in faith and life. 

But the prophet Isaiah carries it a little farther than is 
cited by Stephen. For after having declared what is 

<^ Acts vil. A7 — 51. « I<!a. Ixyi. 1, 2. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 51 

not God's house, *• the place where his honour dwells,*' 
immediately follow these words : *' But to this man will 
I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spi- 
rit, andtrembleth at my word."^ Behold, O carnal and 
superstitious man, the true worshipper, and the place of 
God's rest ! This is the house and temple of Him whom 
the heaven of heavens cannot contain ; an house self 
cannot build, nor the art nor power of man prepare or 
consecrate. 

Sect. 6. Paul, that great apostle of the Gentiles, twice 
expressly refers the word temple to man : once in his 
first epistle to the church at Corinth ; '* Know ye not 
(says he) that you are the temples of the Holy Ghost, 
which is in you, which ye have of God ?"^ &c. and not 
the building of man's hand and art. Again, he tells the 
same people, in his second epistle, *' For ye are the 
temple of the living God, as God hath said ;"h and then 
cites God's words by the prophet, " I will dwell in 
them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people." This is the evangelical tem- 
ple, the Christian church, whose ornaments are not the 
embroideries and furnitures of worldly art and wealth, 
but the graces of the spirit ; " meekness, love, faith^ 
patience, self-denial, and charity." Here it is, that the 
eternal wisdom, that was with God from everlasting, 
before the hills were brought forth, or the mountains 
laid, chooses to dwell, " rejoicing, (says Wisdom) in 
the habitable part of the earth, and my delights were 
with the sons of men ;"^ not in the houses built of wood 
and stone. This living house is more glorious than 
Solomon's dead house ; and of which his was but a fi- 
gure, as he, the builder, was of Christ, who " builds 
us up an holy temple to God."k It was promised of 
old, that " the glory of the latter should transcend the 
glory of the former;" which may be applied to this: 
not one outward temple or house to excel another in 

*" Isa. Ixvi. 2. g 1 Cor.vi. 19. fa 2 Cor. vi, 16. 

i Prov. viii. 22, 23, 25, 31. ^ Hag. ii. 9. 

H 



5% NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

outward lustre ; for where is the benefit of that ? but 
the divine glory, the beauty of holiness in the gospel 
house or church, made up of renewed believers, should 
exceed the outward glory of Solomon's temple, which 
in comparison of the latter days, was but flesh to spirit, 
fading resemblances to the eternal substance. 

But for all this. Christians have meeting-places, yet 
not in Jewish or Heathen state, but plain ; void of pomp 
and ceremony ; suiting the simplicity of their blessed 
Lord's life and doctrine. For God's presence is not 
with the house, but with them that are in it, who are 
the gospel- church, and not the house. O ! that such as 
call themselves Christians, knew but a real sanctity in 
themselves, by the washing of God's regenerating grace; 
instead of that imaginary sanctity ascribed to places, 
they would then know what the church is, and where, 
in these evangelical days, is the place of God's appear- 
ance. This made the prophet David say, *' The King's 
daughter is all glorious within, her clothing is of wrought 
gold." What is the glory that is within the true church, 
and that gold that makes up that inward glory ? Tell 
me, O superstitious man ! is it thy stately temples, 
altars, carpets, tables, tapestries ; thy vestments, or- 
gans, voices, candles, lamps, censers, plate and jewels, 
with the like furniture of thy worldly temples ? No 
such matter ; they bear no proportion with the divine 
adornment of the King of heaven's daughter, the bles- 
sed and redeemed church of Christ. Miserable apos- 
tacy that it is 1 and a wretched supplement in the loss 
and absence of the apostolic life, the spiritual glory of 
the primitive church. 

Sect. 7. But yet some of these admirers of external 
pomp and glory in worship, would be thought lovers of 
the Cross, and to that end have made to themselves 
many. But alas ! what hopes can there be of reconciling 
that to Christianity, that the nearer it comes to its re- 
semblance, the farther off it is in reality ? For their very 
cross and self-denial, are most unlawful self: and whilst 
they fancy to worship God thereby, they most dange- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. sz 

rously err from the true cross of Christ, and that holy 
abnegation that was of his blessed appointment. It is 
true, they have got a cross, but it seems to be in the 
room of the true one ; and so mannerly7 that it will do 
as they will have it that wear it ; for instead of mortify, 
ing their wills by it, they made it, and use it according 
to them : so that the cross is become their ensign that 
do nothing but what they list. Yet by that they would 
be thought his disciples, that never did his own will, 
but the will of his heavenly Father. 

Sect. 8. This is such a cross as flesh and blood can 
carry, for flesh and blood invented it : therefore not the 
cross of Christ, that is to crucify flesh and blood. 
Thousands of them have no more virtue than a chip ; 
poor empty shadows, not so much as images of the true 
one. Some carry them for charms about them, but 
never repel one evil with them. They sin with them 
upon their backs, and though they put them in their bo- 
soms, their beloved lusts lie there too without the least 
disquiet. They are as dumb as Elijah's mock-gods ; 
no life nor power in them :^ and how should they, whose 
matter is earthly, and whose figure and workmanship 
are but the invention and labour of worldly artists ? Is 
it possible that such crosses should mend their makers ? 
Surely not. 

Sect. 9. These are yokes without restraint, and crosses 
that never contradict : a whole cart load of them would 
Ibave a man as unmortified as they find him. Men may 
sooner knock their brains out with them, than their 
sins : and that, I fear, too many of them know in their 
very consciences that use them, indeed adore them, and 
which can only happen to the false cross, are proud of 
them too, since the true one leaves no pride where it is 
truly borne. 

Sect. 10. For as their religion, so their cross is very 
gaudy and triumphant : but in what ? In precious 

1 1 Kings, xviii. 27. 



54 NO CROSS, NO CROWN., Part I. 

metals and gems, the spoil of superstition upon the 
people's pockets. These crosses are made of earthly- 
treasure, instead of learning their hearts that wear them 
to deny it ; and like men they are respected by their 
finery. A rich cross shall have many gazers and ad- 
mirers ; the mean, in this, as other things, are more 
neglected. 1 could appeal to themselves of this great 
vanity and superstition. O ! how very short is this of 
the blessed cross of Jesus, that takes away the sins of 
the world ! 

Sect. 11. Nor is a recluse life, the boasted righteous- 
ness of some, much more commendable, or one whit 
nearer to the nature of the true cross : for if it be not 
unlawful as other things are, it is unnatural, which true 
religion teaches not. The christian convent and monas- 
tery are within, where the soul is encloistered from sin. 
And this religious house the true followers of Christ 
carry about with them, who exempt not themselves from 
the conversation of the world, though they keep 
themselves from the evil of the world in their conversa- 
tion. That is a lazy, rusty, unprofitable self-denial, bur- 
densome to others, to feed their idleness ; religious bed- 
lams, where people are kept up, lest they should do 
mischief abroad ; patience per force ; self-denial against 
their will, rather ignorant than virtuous ; and out of the 
way of temptation than constant in it. No thanks if they 
eommit not what they are not tempted to commit. What 
the eye views pot, the he^rt craves not, as well as rues 
^ot, 

Sect. 12. The cross of Christ is of another nature : 
it truly overcomes the world, and leads a life of purity 
in the fape of Us allurements : they that bear it, are not 
thus chained up, for fear they should bite : nor locked 
up lest they should be stolen away : no, they receive 
power from Christ their captain, to resist the evil, and 
do that which is good in the sight of God ; to despise 
the world, and love iis reproach above its praise : and 
not only not to oiFend others, but love those that offend 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. S5 

them, though not for offending them. What a world 
should we have, if every body, for fear of transgressing, 
should mew himself up within four walls ! No such 
matter ; the perfection of Christian life extends to every 
honest labour or traffick used among men. This severity 
is not the effect of Christ's free spirit, but a voluntary, 
fleshly humility ; mere trammels of their own making 
and putting on, without prescription or reason. In all 
which, it is plain, they are their own law-givers, and set 
their own rule, mulct and ransom : a constrained harsh- 
ness, out of joint to the rest of the creation ; for so- 
ciety is one great end of it, and not to be destroyed for 
fear of evil : but sin banished that spoils it, by steady 
reproof, and a conspicuous example of tried virtue. 
True godliness does not turn men out of the world, 
but enables them to live better in it, and excites their 
endeavours to mend it : '* not hide their candle under 
a bushel, but set it upon a table, in a candlestick." 
Besides, it is a selfish invention : and that can never be 
the way of taking up the cross, which the true cross is 
therefore taken up to subject. But again, this humour 
runs away by itself, and leaves the world behind to be 
lost ; Christians should keep the helm, and guide the 
vessel to its port ; not meanly steal out at the stern of 
the world, and leave those that are in it, without a pi- 
lot, to be driven by the fury of evil times, upon the 
rock or sand of ruin. In fine, this sort of life, if taken 
up by young people, is commonly to cover idleness, 
or to pay portions ; to save the lazy from the pain of 
punishment, or quality from the disgrace of poverty : 
one will not w^ork, and the other scorns it. If aged, 
a long life of guilt sometimes flies to superstition for 
refuge ; and after having had its own will in other 
things, would finish it in a wilful religion to make God 
amends. 

Sect. 13. But taking up the cross of Jesus is a more 
interior exercise : it is the circumspection and discipline 
of the soul, in conformity to the divine mind therein 
revealed. Does not the body follow the soul, and not 



56 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

the soul the body ? Do not such consider, that no out- 
ward cell can shut up the soul from lust, the mind from 
an infinity of unrighteous imaginations ? The thoughts 
of man's heart are evil, and that continually. Evil 
comes from within, and not from without :- how then 
can an external application remove an internal cause ; 
or a restraint upon the body, work a confinement of 
the mind ? Less much than without doors : for where 
there is least of action, there is most time to think ; 
and if those thoughts are not guided by an higher prin- 
ciple, convents are more mischievous to the world than 
exchanges. And yet a retirement is both an excellent 
and needful thing : crowds and throngs were not much 
frequented by the ancient holy pilgrims. 

Sect. 14. But then examine, O man, thy bottom, 
what it is, and who placed thee there ; lest in the end 
it should appear, thou hast put an eternal cheat upon 
thy own soul. I must confess I am jealous of the sal- 
vation of my own kind, having found mercy with my 
heavenly Father ; I would have none deceive themselves 
to perdition, especially about religion, where people are 
most apt to take all for granted, and lose infinitely by 
their own flatteries and neglect. The inward steady 
righteousness of Jesus is another thing, than all the con- 
trived devotion of poor superstitious man : and to stand 
approved in the eye of God, excels that bodily exercise 
in religion, resulting from the invention of men. And 
the soul that is awakened and preserved by his holy 
power and spirit, lives to him in the way of his own in- 
stitution, and worships him in his own spirit, that is, in 
the holy sense, life, and leadings of it ; which indeed 
is the evangelical worship. Not that I would be thought 
to slight a true retirement : for I do not only acknow- 
ledge, but admire solitude. Christ himself was an ex- 
ample of it : he loved and chose to frequent mountains, 
gardens, sea- sides. They are requisite to the growth 
of piety ; and I reverence the virtue that seeks and uses 
it : wishing there were more of it in the world : but 
then it should be free, not constrained. What benefit 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 57 

to the mind, to have it for a punishment, and not a plea- 
sure ? Nay, I have long thought it an error among all 
sorts, that use not monastic lives, that they have no re- 
treats for the afflicted, the tempted, the solitary, and the 
devout; where they might undisturbedly wait upon 
God, pass through their religious exercises ; and being 
thereby strengthened, may, with more power over their 
own spirits enter into the business of the world again ; 
though the less the better to be sure. For divine plea- 
sures are found in a free solitude. 



!XS 



CHAP. VI> 

Sect. 1. But men of more refined belief and practice are yet 
concerned in this unlawful self about religion. 2. It is the 
rise of the performance of worship God regards. 3. True 
worship is only from an heart prepared by God's spirit. 4. 
the soul of man dead, without the divine breath of life, and 
so not capable of worshipping the living God. 5. We are 
not to study what to pray for. How christians should pray. 
The aid they have from God. 6. The way of obtaining 
this preparation : it is by waiting, as David and others did of 
old, in holy silence, that their wants and supplies are best 
seen. 7. The whole and the full think the}r need not this 
waiting, and so use it not ; but the poor in spirit are of ano- 
ther mind ; wherefore the Lord hears and fills them with his 
good things. 8. If there were not this preparation, the Jew- 
ish times would have been more holy and spiritual than the 
gospel ; for even then it was required, and much more now. 
9. As sin, so formality cannot worship God ; thus David 
Isaiah, &c. 10. God's own forms and institutions hateful to 



58 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

him, unless his own spirit use them ; much more those 6f 
man's contriving. 11. God's children ever met God in his 
way, not their own ; and in his way they always found help 
and comfort. In Jeremiah's time it was the same ; his good- 
ness was manifest to his children that waited truly upon him: 
it was an inward sense and enjoyment of him they thirsted 
after. Christ charged his disciples also to wait for the spirit. 
12. This doctrine of waiting farther opened, and ended with 
an allusion to the pool of Bethesda ; a lively figure of inward 
waiting, and its blessed effects. 13. Four things necessary 
to worship ; the sanctifi cation of the worshipper, and the con- 
secration of the offering, and the thing to be prayed for : and 
lastly, faith to pray in : and all must be right, that is, of 
God's giving. 14. The great power of faith in prayer ; wit- 
ness the importunate widow. The wicked and formal ask, 
and receive not ; the reason why. But Jacob and his true 
offspring, the followers of bis faith, prevail. 15. This shews 
why Christ upbraided his disciples with their little faith. 
The necessity of faith. Christ works no good o n men with- 
out it. 16. This faith is not only possible now, but neces- 
sary. 17. What it is, farther unfolded. 18. Who the heirs 
of this faith are j and what were the noble works of it in the 
former ages of the just. 

Sect. 1. j3UT there be others of a more refined 
speculation, and reformed practice, who dare not use, 
and less adore, a piece of wood or stone, an image of 
silver or gold ; nor yet allow of that Jewish, or rather 
Pagan pomp in worship, practised by others, as if 
Christ's worship were of this world, though his kingdom 
be of the other ; but are doctrinely averse to such su- 
perstition, and yet refrain not to bow to their own reli- 
gious duties, and esteem their formal performance of se- 
veral parts of worship, that go against the grain of their 
fleshly ease, and a preciseness therein, no small cross 
unto ihem ; and that if they abstain from gross and scan- 
dalous sins, or if the act be not committed, though the 
thoughts of it are embraced, and that it has a full career 
in the mind, they hold themselves safe enough, within 



Part 1. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 59 

the pale of discipleship and wall of Christianity. But 
this also is too mean a character of the discipline of 
Christ's cross : and those that flatter themselves with 
such a sort of taking it up, will in the end be deceived 
with a sandy foundation, and a midnight cry. For said 
Christ, " But I say unto you, that every idle word that 
men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in 
the day of judgment.""" 

Sect. 2. For first, it is not performing duties of reli- 
gion but the rise of the performance, that God looks at. 
Men may, and some do, cross their own wills, in their 
own wills ; voluntary omission or commission : /* who 
has required this at your hands ?"" said the Lord of old 
to the Jews, when they seemed industrious to have serv- 
ed him ; but it was in a way of their ovv^n contriving, or 
inventing, and in their own time and will ; not with the 
soul truly touched and prepared by the divine powder of 
God ; but bodily worship only, that the apostle tells us, 
profiteth little. Not keeping to the manner of taking 
up the cross in worship, as well as other things, has 
been a great cause of the troublesome superstition that 
is yet in the world. For men have no more brought 
their worship to the test, than their sins : nay less ; for 
they have ignorantly thought the one a sort of excuse 
for the other ; and not that their religious performances 
should need a cross, or an apology. 

Sect. 3. But true worship can only come from an 
heart prepared by the Lord.° This preparation is by th^ 
sanctification of the Spirit ; by which, if God's children 
are led in the general course of their lives, as Paul 
teaches, much more in their w^orship to their Creator 
and Redeemer.P And whatever prayer be made, or doc- 
trine be uttered, and not from the preparation of the 
Holy Spirit, it is not acceptable with God : nor can it 
be the true evengelical worship, which is in spirit and 
truth ; that is, by the preparation and aid of the Spirit. 

"-« Mat. xii. 36. " Isa. i. 12. » Prov, xvi. 1. ? Rom, viii. 14. 

I 



60 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

For what is an heap of the most pathetical words to God 
Almighty ; or the dedication of any place or time to 
him ? He is a spirit, to whom words, places and times, 
strictly considered, are improper or inadequate. And 
though they be the instruments of public worship, they 
are but bodily and visible, and cannot carry our requests 
any farther, much less recommend them to the invisible 
God ; by no means : they are for the sake of the con- 
gregation : it is the language of the soul God hears ; 
nor can that speak, but by the Spirit ; or groan aright 
to Almighty God, without the assistance of it. 

Sect. 4. The soul of man, however lively in other 
things, is dead to God, till he breathe the spirit of life 
into it : it cannot live to him, much less worship him 
without it. Thus God by Ezekiel tells us, when in a vi- 
sion of the restoration of mankind, in the person of Israel, 
an usual way of speaking among the prophets, and as 
often mistaken ; t' I will open your graves (saith the 
Lord) and put my spirit in you, and ye shall live."^ So, 
though Christ taught his disciples to pray, they were, in 
some sort, disciples before he taught them ; not worldly 
men, whose prayers are an abomination to God. And 
his teaching them is not an argument that every one 
must say that prayer, whether he can say it with the 
same heart, and under the same qualifications, as his 
poor disciples and followers did or not, as is now too 
superstition sly and presumptuously practised. But ra- 
ther, that as they then, so we now, are not to pray our 
own prayers, but his ; that is, such as he enables us to 
make, as he enabled them then. 

Sect. 5. For if we are not to take thought what we 
shall say when we come before worldly princes, because 
it shall then be given us ; and that it is not we that speak, 
but the spirit of our heavenly Father that speaketh in 
us ;'' much less can our ability be needed, or ought we 
to study to ourselves forms of speech in our approaches 
to the great Prince of princes, King of kings, and Lord 

<i Ezek. xxxvii. 12, 13, 14. ^ Mat. x. 19, 20. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 61 

of lords. ^ For be it his greatness, we ought not by 
Christ's command : be it our relation to him, as chil- 
dren, we need not : he will help us, he is our father ; 
that is, if he be so indeed. Thus not only the mouth 
of the body, but of the soul is shut, till God opens it; 
and then he loves to hear the language of it. In which 
the body ought never to go before the soul ; his ear is 
open to such requests, and his spirit strongly intercedes 
for those that offer them. 

Sect. 6. But it may be asked, how shall this prepara- 
tion be obtained ? 

1 answer : by waiting patiently, yet watchfully and in- 
tently upon God : *' Lord (says the Psalmist) thou hast 
heard the desire of the humble; thou wilt prepare their 
heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:"* and, says 
Wisdom, *' the preparation of the heart in man is from 
the Lord."" Here it is thou must not think thy own 
thoughts, nor speak thy own words which indeed is the 
silence of the holy cross, but be sequestered from all the 
confused imaginations, that are apt to throng and press 
upon the mind, in those holy retirements. It is not for 
thee to think to overcome the Almighty by the most 
composed matter, cast into the aptest phrase : no, no ; 
one groan, one sigh, from a wounded soul, an heart 
touched with true remorse, a sincere and godly sorrow, 
which is the work of God's spirit, excels and prevails 
with God. Wherefore stand still in thy mind, wait to 
feel something that is divine, to prepare and dispose thee 
to worship God truly and acceptably. And thus taking 
up the cross, and shutting the doors and windows of the 
soul against every thing that would interrupt this attend- 
ance upon God, how pleasant soever the object be in it- 
self, how lawful or needful at another season, the power 
of the Almighty will break in, his spirit will work and 
prepare the heart, that it may offer up an acceptable sac- 
rifice. It is he that discovers and presses wants upon 
the soul ; and when it cries, it is he alone that supplies 

s Mat. vi. t Psal. x. 17- " Prov. xvi. 1. 



62 NO GROSS, NO CROWN* Part I. 

them. Petitions, not springing from such a sense and 
preparation, are formal and fictitious ; they are not true ; 
for men pray in their own blind desires, and not in the 
will of God ; and his ear is stopped to them : but for 
the very sighing of the poor, and crying of the needy, 
God hath said, he will arise ; that is, the poor in spirit, 
the needy soul, those that want his assistance, who are 
ready to be overwhelmed, that feel a need, and cry aloud 
for a deliverer, and that have none on earth to help,"^ 
" none in heaven but him, nor in earth in comparison 
of him : he will deliver (said David) the needy, when he 
cries and the poor, and him that has no helper. He 
shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and 
precious shall their blood be in his sight. This poor 
inan (says he) cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved 
him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord en- 
campeth round about them that fear him, and delivers 
them ;"^ and then invites all to come and taste how good 
the Lord is. Yea, *^ he will bless them that fear the 
Lord, both small and great. "^ 

Sect. 7. But what is that to them that are not hun- 
gry ? The whole need not the physician :^ the full have 
ho need to sigh, nor the rich to cry for help. Those that 
are not sensible of their inward wants, that have not 
fears and terrors upon them, who feel no need of God's 
power to help them, nor of the light of his countenance 
to comfort them ; what have such to do with prayer ? 
Their devotion is but, at best, a serious mockery of the 
Almight} . They know not, they want not, they de- 
sire not what they pray for. They pray the will of 
God may be done, and do constantly their own : for 
though it be soon said, it is a most terrible thing to 
them. They ask for grace, and abuse that they have : 
they pray for the spirit, but resist it in themselves, and 
scorn at it in others : they request the mercies and good- 
ness of God, and feel no real want of them. And in 
this inward insensibility, they are as unable to praise 

w Psal.xii. 5. ^ Psal. Ixxii. 12, 14. Psal. xxxiv. 6, 7, 8. 

y Psal. cxv. 13. ^ Mat. ix. 12. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 63 

God for what they have, as to pray for what they have 
not. '' They shall praise the Lord (says David) that 
seek him : for he satisfieth the longing soul, and fillcth 
the hungry with good things."^ This also he reserves 
for the poor and needy, and those that fear God. '' Let 
the (spiritually) poor and the needy praise thy name : ye 
that fear the Lord, praise him ; all ye the seed of Jacob, 
glorify him.'"' Jacob was a plain man, of an upright 
heart ; and they that are so are his seed. And though, 
with him, they may be as poor as worms in their own 
eyes, yet they receive power to wrestle with God, and 
prevail as he did. 

Sect. 8. But without the preparation and consecra- 
tion of this power, no man is fit to come before God ; 
else it were matter of less holiness and reverence to 
worship God under the gospel, than it was in the times 
of the law, when all sacrifices were sprinkled before of- 
fered ; the people consecrated that offered them, before 
they presented themselves before the Lord.*" If the 
touching of a dead or unclean beast then made people 
unfit for temple or sacrifice, yea, society with the clean, 
till first sprinkled and sanctified, how can we think so 
meanly of the worship that is instituted by Christ in 
gospel-times, as that it shall admit of unprepared and 
unsanctified offerings ? or, allow that those who either 
in thoughts, words, or deeds, do daily touch that which 
is morally unclean, can, without coming to the blood of 
Jesus, that sprinkles the conscience from dead works, 
acceptably worship the pure God ; it is a downright 
contradiction to good sense : the unclean cannot accept- 
ably worship that which is holy ; the impure that which 
is perfect. There is an holy intercourse and commu- 
nion betwixt Christ and his followers ; but none at all 
betwixt Christ and Belial ; between him and those that 
disobey his commandments, and live not the life of his 
blessed cross and self- denial. "^ 

a Psal. xxil. 26. Psal. cvii. 9. ^ Psal. Ixxiv. 21. Psal. xxii. 23. 

<: Numb. viii. and chap. xix. 2 Chron. xxix. 36. and chap. xxx. 16, 17. 
^ 2Cor.vi. 15, 16. 



64 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part 



" 



Sect. 9. But as siii, so formality cannot worship 
God ; no, though the manner were of his own ordina- 
tion. Which made the prophet, personating one in a 
great strait, cry out, " Wherewith shall I come before 
the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? Shall 
I come before him with burnt- oiferings ? With calves 
of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thou- 
sands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? 
Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the 
fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? He hath 
shewed thee, O man, what is good. And what doth the 
Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, 
and to walk humbly with thy God ?"^ The royal pro- 
phet, sensible of this, calls thus also upon God; " O 
Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth 
thy praise."' He did not dare open his own lips, he 
knew that he could not praise God : and why ? " For 
thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it :" (if my 
formal offerings would serve, thou shouldst not want 
them) " thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. The 
sacrifices of God, are a broken spirit ; a broken and a 
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise:" and 
why ? Because this is God's work, the effect of his 
power ; and his own works praise him. To the same 
purpose doth God himself speak, by the mouth of Isaiah, 
in opposition to the formalities and lip- worship of the 
degenerate Jews : *' Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is 
my throne, and the eardi is my foot-stool, where is the 
house that ye build to me ? And where is the place of 
my rest ? For all these things hath my hand made. 
But to this man will I look, even him that is poor, and 
of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."^ O 
behold the true worshipper ! one of God's preparing, 
circumcised in heart and ear, that resists not the Holy 
Spirit, as those lofty professing Jews did. Was this so 
then, even in the time of the law, which was the dis- 
pensation of external and shadowy performances, and 
can we now expect acceptance without the preparation 

"= Mic. vi. 6, 7y S. f Psal. li. 15, 16, ir. s Isa. Ixvi. 1, 2. 



! Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 65 

of the Spirit of the Lord in these gospel-times, which 
are the proper times for the effusion of the Spirit ? By 
no means : God is what he was ; and none else are his 
true worshippers, but such as worship him in his own 
spirit ; these he tenders as the apple of his eye : the rest 
do but mock him, and he despises them. Hear what 
follows to that people, for it is the state and portion of 
Christendom at this day : *' He that killedi an ox, is as 
if he slew a man : he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut 
off a dog's neck ; he that offereth an oblation, as if he 
offered swine's blood ; he that burneth incense, as if he 
blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, 
and their soul delighteth in their abominations." Let 
none say we offer not these kinds of oblations, for that 
is not the matter ; God was not offended with the offer- 
ings, but offerers. These were the legal forms of sacri- 
fice by God appointed ; but they not presenting them in 
that frame of spirit, and under that right disposition of 
soul that was required, God declares his abhorrence, and 
that with great aggravation ; and elsewhere, by the same 
prophet, forbids them to " bring any more vain obla- 
tions before him : incense (says God) is an abomina- 
tion to me : your sabbaths and calling of assemblies I 
cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meet- 
ing. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide 
mine eyes from you ; when you make many prayers, I 
will not hear you."'^ A most terrible renunciation of 
their worship ; and why ? Because their hearts were pol- 
luted ; they loved not the Lord with their whole hearts, 
but broke his law, and rebelled against his spirit, and 
did not that which was right in his sight. The cause is 
plain, by the amendments he requires : '' Wash you 
(says the Lord) make you clean, put away the evil of 
your doings from before mine eyes : cease to do evil, 
learn to do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, 
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.'* Upon these 
terms, and nothing short, he bids them come to him, 
and tells them, that though their '^ sins be as scarlet, 

^ Isa. i. 13 to 18. 



66 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

they shall be white as snow ; and though they be as 
crimson, they shall be white as wool." 

So true is that notable passage of the Psalmist : 
" Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will de- 
clare what he hath done for my soul : I cried to him 
with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
me. But verily God hath heard me, he hath attend- 
ed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God 
which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy 
from me."' 

Sect. 10. Much of this kind might be cited, to shew 
the displeasure of God against even his own forms of 
worship, when performed without his own spirit, and 
that necessary preparation of the heart of man, that no- 
thing else can work or give : which above all other pen- 
men of sacred writ, is most frequently and emphatically 
recommended to us by the example of the Psalmist, 
who ever and anon calling to mind his own great slips, 
and the cause of them, and the way by which he came 
to be accepted of God, and obtain strength and comfort 
from him, reminds himself to w^ait upon God. '* Lead 
me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of 
my salvation, on thee do I wait all the day long."^ His 
soul looked to God for salvation, to be delivered from 
the snares and evils of the world. This shews an in- 
ward exercise, a spiritual attendance, that stood not in 
external forms but an inward divine aid. 

And truly, David had great encouragement so to do, 
the goodness of God invited him to it, and strengthened 
him in it. " For (says he) I waited patiently upon the 
Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He 
brought me out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a 
rock." That is, the Lord appeared inwardly to conso- 
late David's soul, that v/aited for his help, and to deliver 
it from the temptations and afflictions that were ready to 
overwhelm it, and gave him security and peace. There- 

i Psal. Ixvi. 16. 20. ^ Pgal. xxv. 5. Psal. xl. 1,2,3. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 67 



. 9> 



fore he says, " The Lord hath established my going ; 
that is, fixed his mind in righteousness. Before, every 
step he took bemired him, and he was scarce able to go 
without falling : temptations on all hands ; but he wait- 
ed patiently upon God ; his mind retired watchful and 
intent to his law and spirit ; and he felt the Lord to in- 
cline to him. His needy and sensible cry entered hea- 
ven, and prevailed ; then came rescue and deliverance to 
David, in God's time, not David's, strength to go through 
his exercises, and surmount all his troubles. For which 
he tells us, *' a new song was put into his mouth even 
praise," says he, " to our God." But it was of God's 
making and putting, and not his own. 

Another time, we have him crying thus: '' As the hart 
panteth after the water- brooks, so panteth my soul after 
thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living 
God : when shall I come and appear before him?" This 
goes beyond formality, and can be tied to no lesson. 
But we may by this see, that true worship is an inward 
work ; that the soul must be touched and raised in its 
heavenly desires, by the heavenly spirit, and that the 
true worship is in God's presence. " When shall I 
come and appear ?" Not in the temple, nor with out- 
ward sacrifices, but before God, in his presence. So 
that the souls of true worshippers see God, make their 
appearance bfefore him ; and this they wait, they pant, 
they thirst for. O how is the better part of Christen- 
dom degenerated from David's example ! No wonder, 
therefore, that this good man tells us, '* truly my soul 
waiteth upon God ;" and that he gives it in charge to his 
soul so to do ; '' O my soul, wait ihou upon God ; for 
my expectation is from him." As if he said, None else 
can prepare my heart, or supply my wants ; so that my 
expectation is not from my own voluntary performances, 
or the bodily worship I can give him ; they are of no 
value ; they can neither help me nor please him. But I 
wait upon him for strength and power to present myself 
so before him as may be most pleasing to him, for he 
that prepares the sacrifice, will certainly accept it. 
Wherefore in two verses he repeats it thrice, ^* I wait 

K 



68 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

for the Lord — My soul doth wait — My soul waiteth for 
the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning.-'" 
Ye^, so intensely, and with that unweariedness of soul, 
that he says in one place, '• Mine eyes fail, while I v/ait 
for my God."" He was not contented with so many 
prayers, such a set of worship, or limited repetition ; 
no : he leaves not till he finds the Lord, that is, the 
comforts of his presence ; which bring the answer of 
love and peace to his soul. Nor was this his practice 
only, as a man more than ordinarily inspired ; for he 
speaks of it as the way of worship then amongst the true 
people of God, the spiritual Israel, and circumcision 
in heart, of that day. " Behold (says he) as the eyes of 
servants look to the hand of their masters, and as the 
eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our 
eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have mercy 
upon us."^ In another place, *' Our soul waiteth for the 
Lord, he is our help and our shield. I will wait upon 
thy name, for it is good before thy saints. "^ It was in 
request wdth the truly godly of that day, and the way 
they came to enjoy God, and worship him acceptably. 
And from his own experience of the benefit of waiting 
upon God, and the saints practice of those times, he re- 
commends it to others : *' Wait upon the Lord, be of 
good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart : wait, I 
say, upon the Lord.'"! That is, wait in faith and pa- 
tience, and he will come to save thee. Again, '* Rest 
in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:'"" that is, 
cast thyself upon him ; be contented, and w^ait for him 
to help thee in thy wants : thou canst not think how 
near he is to help those that wait upon him : O try, 
and have faith ! Yet again, he bids us, " wait upon the 
Lord, and keep his way.'" Behold the reason so few 
profit ! they are out of his way, and such can never wait 
rightly upon him. Great reason had David for what he 
said, that had with so much comfort and advantage met 
the Lord in his blessed way. 

'" Psal, cxxx. 5, 6. " Psal. Ixix. 3. « Psal. cxxiii. 2. 

p Psal. xxxiii. 20. Psal. lii. 9. i Psal, xxvii, 14, ^ Ps^i, xxxvii. 7. 
"> Psal. xxxvii. 34. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 69 

Sect. 11. The prophet Isaiah tells us, that though the 
chastisements of the Lord were sore upon the people for 
their backslidings,^ yet in the way of his judgments, in 
the way of his rebukes and displeasures they waited for 
him, and the desire of their soul, that is the great point, 
was to his name, and the remembrance of him. They 
were contented to be chid and chastised, for they had 
sinned ; and the knowledge of him so, was very desira- 
ble to them. But what ! did he not come at last, and 
that in mercy too ? Yes, he did, and diey knew him 
when he came, a doctrine the brutish world knows not, 
"This is our God, we have w^aited for him, and he will 
save us.'"" O blessed enjoyment! O precious confi- 
dence. Here was a waiting in faith, which prevailed. 
All worship, not in faith, is fruitless to the worshipper, 
as well as displeasing to God ; and this faith is the gift 
of God, and the nature of it is to purify the heart, and 
give such as truly believe "victory over the world." 
Well ! but they go on : " We have waited for him, we 
will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."^ The pro- 
phet adds, " Blessed are all they that wait upon God :"'^ 
and why ? " For they that wait upon the Lord, shall re- 
new their strength ; they shall never faint ; never be 
weary :'"" The encouragement is great. O hear him 
once more ! " For since the beginning of the world, 
men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither 
hath the eye seen, O God ! besides thee, what he hath 
prepared for him that waiteth for him."^ Behold the in- 
ward life and joy of the righteous, the true worship- 
pers ! those whose spirits bowed to the appearance of 
God's spirit in them, leaving and forsaking all it appear- 
ed against, and embracing whatever it led them to. In 
Jeremiah's tinie, the true worshippers also waited upon 
God; and he assures us, " That the Lord is good to 
them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." 
Hence it is that the prophet Hosea exhorts the church 
then, to turn and wait upon God : " Therefore turn thou 



* Isa. xxvi. 8. " Isa. xxv. 9. ^ Isa.xxx. 18. 

^ Isa. xl. 31. y Isa. Ixiv. 4. 



ro NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

to thy God ; keep mercy and judgment, and wait on 
thy God continually. "2 

And Micah is very zealous and resolute in this good 
exercise : ^' I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for 
the God of my salvation : my God will hear me."* 
Thus did the children of the spirit that thirsted after an 
inward sense of him. The wicked cannot say so : nor 
they that pray, unless they wait. It is charged upon 
Israel in the wilderness, as the cause of their disobedi- 
ence and ingratitude to God, that they ** waited not for 
his counsels." We may be sure it is our duty, and ex- 
pected from us ; for God requires it in Zephaniah : 
^' Therefore wait upon me, saith the Lord, until the day 
that I arise, &.c."^ O that all who profess the name of 
God, would wait so, and not offer to arise to worship 
without him ! and they would feel his stirrings and 
arisings in them, to help, and prepare, and sanctify 
them. Christ expressly charged his disciples, they 
should not stir from Jerusalem, but wait till they had 
received the promise of the Father, the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost, in order to their preparation for the preach- 
ing of the glorious gospel of Christ to the world. "*" And 
though that were an extraordinary effusion for an extra- 
ordinary work, yet the degree does not change the kind. 
On the contrary, if so much waiting and preparation 
by the Spirit was requisite to fit them to preach to 
man ; some, at least, may be needful to fit us to speak 
to God, 

Sect. 12, I will close this great scripture doctrine of 
waiting, with that passage in Jfohn, about the pool of Be- 
thesda. ^' There is at Jerusalem, by the sheep-market, a 
pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, 
"having five porches, in these lay a great multitude of im- 
potent folks, of blind, halt, and withered, waiting for the 
Tnoving of the water. For an angel went down at a 
certain season into the pool, and troubled the water : 
jvhosoever then first after the troubling of the water, 

*Jer. xiv, 22. Lament, iii. 25. Hos, xii. 6. ^- Mic. vii. T. 

^ Zeph. iii. 8. ^ Acts i. 4—8. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ri 

stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he 
had.'^'* A most exact representation of what is intend- 
ed by all that has been said upon the subject of waiting. 
For as there was then an outward and legal, so there is 
now a gospel and spiritual Jerusalem, the church of 
God, consisting of the faithful. The pool in that old 
Jerusalem, in some sort, represented that fountain, 
which is now set open in the New Jerusalem, That 
pool was for those that were under infirmities of body ; 
this fountain for all that are impotent in soul. There 
was an angel then that moved the water to render it be- 
neficial ; it is God's angel now, the great angel of his 
presence, that blesseth this fountain with success. 
They that then went in before, and did not watch the 
angel, and take advantage of his motion, found no bene- 
fit of their stepping in : those that now wait not the 
moving of God's angel, but by the devotion of their own 
forming and timing, rush before God, as the horse into 
the battle, and hope for success, are sure to miscarry in, 
their expectations. Therefore, as then, they waited 
with all patience and intention upon the angel's motion, 
that wanted and desired to be cured ; so do the true 
worshippers of God now, that need and pray for his pre- 
sence, which is the life of their souls, as the sun is to 
the plants of the field. They have often tried the unpro- 
fitableness of their own work, and are now come to the 
sabbath indeed. They dare not put up a device of their 
own, or offer an unsancrified request, much less obtrude 
bodily worship, where the soul is really insensible or un- 
prepared by the Lord. In the light of Jesus they ever 
wait to be prepared, retired, and recluse from all 
thoughts that cause the least distraction and discompo- 
sure in the mind, till they see the angel move, and till 
their beloved please to wake : nor dare they call him be- 
fore his time. And they fear to make a devotion in his 
absence ; for they know it is not only improfitable, but 
reprovable : *' Who has required this at your hands ?" 
** He that believes makes not haste."* They that worship 

^ John V. 2, 3, 4. <= Isa. i 12. ch. xxviii. 16. 



72 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

with their own, can only do as the Israelites, turn their 
ear-rings into a molten image, and be cursed for their 
pains. Nor fared they better, that gathered sticks of 
old, and kindled a fire, and compassed themselves about 
with the sparks that they had kindled j^ for God told 
them, " they should lie down in sorrow." It should 
not only be of no advantage, and do them no good, but 
incur a judgment from him ; sorrow and anguish of soul 
shall be their portion. Alas ! flesh and blood would fain 
pray, though it cannot wait ; and be a saint, though it 
cannot abide to do or suffer the will of God. With the 
tongue it blesses God, and with the tongue it curses 
men, made in his similitude. It calls Jesus Lord, but 
not by the Holy Ghost ; and often names the name 
of Jesus, yea, bows the knee to it too, but departs not 
from iniquity : this is abominable to God. 

Sect. 13. In short, there are four things so necessary to 
worshipping of God aright, and which put its perform- 
ance beyond man's power, that there seems little more 
needed than the naming of them. The first is, the sanc- 
tification of the worshipper. Secondly, the consecra- 
tion of the offering, which has been spoken to before 
somewhat largely. Thirdly, what to pray for; which 
no man knows, that prays not by the aid of God's spi- 
rit ; and, therefore, without that spirit no man can truly 
pray. This the apostle puts beyond dispute; "We 
know not (says he) what we should pray for, as we 
ought, but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities. "« Men 
unacquainted with the work and power of the Holy Spi- 
rit, are ignorant of the mind of God : and those, cer- 
tainly, can never please him with their prayers. It is 
not enough to know, we want; but we should learn, 
whether it be not sent us as a blessing : disappointments 
to the proud, losses to the covetous, and to the negli- 
gent stripes : to remove these, were to secure the des- 
truction, not help the salvation of the soul. 

The vile world knows nothing, but carnally, after a 
fleshly manner and interpretation ; and too many that 

Usa. 1. 11. sRom.viU. 26. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 73 

would be thought enlightened, are apt to call providences 
by wrong names. For instance, afflictions they stile 
judgments ; and trials, more precious than the beloved 
gold, they call miseries. On the other hand, they call 
the preferments of the world by the name of honour, and 
its wealth, happiness : when for once that they arc so, it 
is much to be feared they are sent of God an hundred 
times for judgments, at least trials, upon their possess- 
ors. Therefore, what to keep, what to reject, what to 
want, is a difficulty God only can resolve the soul. And 
since God knows better than we, what we need, he can 
better tell us what to ask, than we can him : which made 
Christ exhort his disciples to avoid long and repetitious 
prayers ; telling them, that their heavenly Father knew 
what they needed, before they asked :^ and therefore 
gave them a pattern to pray by : not as some fancy, to 
be a text to human liturgies, which of all services are 
most justly noted and taxed for length and repetition ; 
but expressly to repove and avoid them. But if those 
wants that are the subject of prayer, were once agreed 
upon, though that be a mighty point ; yet how to pray 
is still of greater moment, than to pray ; it is not the re- 
quest, but the frame of the petitioner's spirit. The 
what may be proper, but the how defective. As I saidj 
God need not be told of our w ants by us, who must tell 
them to us ; yet he will be told them from us, that both 
we may seek him, and he may come down to us. But 
when this is done, " To this man will I look, saith the 
Lord, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, 
and that trembleth at my word :"' To the sick heart, 
the wounded soul, the hungry and thirsty, the weary 
and heavy laden ones ; such sincerely want an helper. 

Sect. 14. Nor is this sufficient to complete gospel- 
worship ; the fourth requisite must be had, and that is 
faith, true faith, precious faith, the faith of God's chosen 
that purifies their hearts, that overcomes the world, and 
is the victory of the saints. ^^ This is that which animates 

t Mat. vi. 7, 8. >• Isa. Ixvl. 2. k 1 Tim. i. 5. Acts xv. 9. Tit. i. 1> 

2 PQt. i. 1. ] John V. 4. 



74 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

prayer and presses it home, like the importunate widow, 
that would not be denied ; to whom Christ, seeming 
to admire, said, ^' O woman, great is thy faith. '^* This 
is of highest moment on our part, to give our addresses 
success with God ; and yet not in our power neither, 
for it is the gift of God : from him we must have it ; 
and with one grain of it more work is done, more deli- 
verance is wrought, and more goodness and mercy re- 
ceived, than by all the runnings, willings, and toilings of 
man, with his inventions and bodily exercises. Which, 
duly weighed, will easily spell out the meaning, why so 
much worship should bring so little profit to the world, 
as we see it does, viz. True faith is lost. They ask, 
and receive not ; they seek, and find not ; they knock, 
and it is not opened unto them :"" the case is plain : their 
requests are not mixed with purifying faith, by which 
they should prevail, as good Jacob's were, when he 
wrestled with God, and prevailed. And the truth is, 
the generality are yet in their sins, following their 
hearts lusts, and living in worldly pleasures, being 
strangers to this precious faith. It is the reason render- 
ed, by the deep author, to tlie Hebrews, of the unprofit- 
ableness of the word preached to some of those days ; 
'' not being (says he) mixed with faith in them that 
heard it.'* Can the minister then preach without faith ? 
No, and much less can any man pray to purpose with- 
out faith, especially when we are told, " That the just 
live by faith." For worship is the supreme act of man's 
life ; and whatever is necessary to inferior acts of reli- 
gion, must not be wanting there. 

Sect. 15. This may moderate the wonder in any, why 
Christ so often upbraided his disciples with, '* O ye of 
little faith !" yet tells us, that one grain of it, though 
as little as that of mustard, one of the least of seeds if 
true and right, is able to remove mountains. As if he 
had said, there is no temptation so powerful, that it 
cannot supply : wherefore those that are captivated by 
temptations, and remain unsupplied in their spiritual 

1 Ma^. XV. 26. n^ Jam. iv. 3. 



Part h NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 75 

wants, have not this powerful faith : that is the true 
cause. So necessary was it of old, that Christ did not 
many mighty works where the people believed not, and 
though his power wrought wonders in other places, 
faith opened the way : so that it is hard to say, whether 
that power by faith, or faith by that power, wrought the 
cure. Let us call to mind what famous things a little 
clay and spittle, one touch of the hem of Christ's gar- 
ment, and a few words out of his mouth did, by the 
force of faith in the patients : '' Believe ye that I am 
able to open your eyes ?" Yea, Lord, say the blind, and 
see. To the ruler, only believe : he did, and his dead 
daughter recovered life. Again, *' If thou canst be- 
lieve : I do believe,'' says the father, ''help my unbe- 
lief;'"" and the evil spirit was chased away, and the 
child recovered. He said to one, '' Go, thy faith has 
made thee whole." And to another, " Thy faith has 
saved thee; thy sins are forgiven thee."° And to en- 
courage his disciples to believe, that were admiring how 
soon his sentence was executed upon the fruitless fig- 
tree, he tells them, " Verily, if ye have faith, and doubt 
not, ye shall not only do this, which is done to the fig- 
tree ; but also, if ye shall say unto this mountain, be 
thou removed and cast into the sea, it shall be done, 
and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be- 
lieving, ye shall receive, "p This one passage convicts 
Christendom of gross infidelity ; for she prays, and re- 
ceives not. 

Sect. 16. But, may some say, it is impossible to re» 
ceive all that a man may ask. It is not impossible to re- 
ceive all that a man, that so believes, can ask. The fruits 
of faith are not impossible to those that truly believe in 
the God that makes them possible.*' When Jesus said 
to the ruler, '« If thou canst believe," he adds, " all 
things are possible to him that believeth."^ Well, but 
then some will say, it is impossible to have such faith : 

" John ix. 6. Luke viil. 47, 48. Matt. ix. 29, 30. Matt. ix. 23. 
o Mark X. 52. Luke vii. 49, 50. p Matt. xxi. 20, 21, 22. 

«} Matt, jtviii. 19. Luke xviii. 27. ' Mark ix. 23. 

L 



76 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

for this very faithless generation would excuse their 
want of faith by making it impossible to have the 
faith they want. But Christ's answer to the infidelity 
of that age, will best confute the disbelief of this. *' The 
things that are impossible with men, are possible with 
God."^ It will follow then, that it is iiot impossible 
with God to give that faith ; though it is certain, that 
*' without it, it is impossible to please God ;"^ for so the 
author to the Hebrews teaches. And if it be else im- 
possible to please God, it must be so to pray to God 
without this precious faith. 

Sect. 17. But some may say, what is this faith, that 
is so necessary to worship, and that gives it such accept- 
ance wath God, and returns that benefit to men ? I say, 
it is an holy resignation to God, and confidence in him, 
testified by a religious obedience to his holy requirings, 
which gives sure evidence to the soul of the things not 
yet seen, and a general sense and taste of the substance 
of those things that are hoped for; that is, the glory 
which is to be revealed hereafter. As this faith is the 
gift of God, so it purifies the hearts of those that re- 
ceive it. The apostle Paul is witness, that it will not 
dwell, but in a pure conscience : he therefore in one 
place, couples a pure heart and faith unfeigned together: 
in another, faith and a good conscience. James joins 
faith w ith righteousness, and John with victory over the 
world : *' This," says he, " is the victory which over- 
comes the world, even your faith."" 

Sect. 18. The heirs of this faith are the true children 
of Abraham (though the uncircumcision in the flesh) 
in that they walk in the steps of father Abraham, ac- 
cording to the obedience of faith, which only entitles 
people to be the children of Abraham.''' This lives 
above the world, not only in its sin, but righteousness ; 
to which no man comes, but through death to self, by 



s Matt. XIX. 24, 25, 26. Luke xviii. 25, 26, 27. ' Heb. xi. 6. 

" 1 Tim. iii. 9. ch. i. 5. James ii. 1 John v. 4. '^''' Rom. iv. 12. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 77 

the cross of Jesus, and an entire dependence, by him, 
upon God,"" 

Famous are the exploits of this divine gift : time 
would fail to recount them ; all sacred story is filled 
with them. But let it suffice, that by it the holy an- 
cients endured all trials, overcame all enemies, prevail- 
ed with God, renowned his truth, finished their testinxp- 
ny, and obtained the reward of the faithful, a crown of 
righteousness, which is the eternal blessedness of the 
just. 



CHAP. VII. 



Sect. 1» Of pride, the first capital lust, its rise. 2. Its defi- 
nition and distinction* 3. That an inordinate desire of 
knowledge in Adam, introduced man's misery. 4. He 
thereby lost his integrity. 5. Who are in Adam's state. 6. 
Knowledge puffs up. 7. The evil effects of false, and the be- 
nefit of true knowledge. 8. Cain's example a proof in the 
case. 9. The Jews' pride in pretending to be wiser than 
Moses, God's servant, in setting their post by God's post. 
10. The effect of which was the persecution of the true pro- 
phets. 11. The divine knowledge of Christ brought peace 
on earth, 12. Of the blind guides, the priests, and the mis- 
chief they have done. 13. The fall of Christians, and the 
pride they have taken in it, hatli exceeded the Jews : under 
the profession of their nev/-moulded Christianity, they have 

« John svi. 9, 10. 



78 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part t. 

murdered the witness of the Lord Jesus. 14. The angels 
saag peace on earth, at the birth of the Lord of meekness and 
humility ; but the pride of the Pharisees withstood and ca- 
lumniated him. 15. As Adam and the Jews lost them- 
selves by their ambition, so the Christians, losing the fear of 
God, grew creed and worship-makers, with this injunction, 
Conform or burn. 16. The evil eflfects of this in Christen- 
dom (so called). 17. The way of recovery out of such mi- 
serable defection. 

Sect. 1. JlIAVING thus discharged my conscience 
against that part of unlawful self, that fain would be a 
Christian, a believer, a saint, whilst a plain stranger to 
the cross of Christ, and the holy exercises of it ; and in 
that briefly discovered what is true worship, and the use 
and business of the holy cross, therein to render its per- 
formance pleasing to Almighty God ; I shall now, the 
same Lord assisting me, more largely prosecute that 
other part of unlawful self, which fills the study, care, 
and conversation of the world, presented to us in these 
three capital lusts ; that is to say. 

Pride, avarice, and luxury ; from whence all other 
mischiefs daily flow, as streams from their proper foun- 
tains : the mortifying of which makes up the other ; and 
indeed a very great part of the work of the true cros& ; 
and though last in place, yet first in experience and du- 
ty ; which done, it introduces in the room of those evil 
habits, the blessed effects of that so-much needed refor- 
mation, to wit, '' mortification, humility, temperance, 
love, patience, and heavenly-mindedness,'"" with all 
other graces of the Spirit, becoming the followers of the 
perfect Jesus, that most heavenly man. 

The care and love of mankind are either directed to 
God or themselves. Those that love God above all, are 
ever humbling self to his commands, and only love self 
in subserviency to him that is Lord of all. But those 
that are declined from that love to God, are lovers of 
themselves more than God : for supreme love must 

^Gal.v. 22,23. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 7S) 

center in one of these two. To that inordinate self-love, 
the apostle rightly joins proud and high-minded.' For 
no sooner had the angels declined their love, duty, and 
reverence to God, than they inordinately loved and va- 
lued themselves ; which made them exceed their station, 
and aspire above the order of their creation. This was 
their pride, and this sad defection their dismal fall : who 
are reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of 
the great day of God. 

Sect. 2. Pride, that pernicious evil, which begins this 
chapter, did also begin the misery of mankind : a most 
mischievous quality ; and so commonly known by its 
motions, and sad effects, that every unmortified breast 
carries its definition in it. However, I will say, in 
short, that pride is an excess of self-love, joined with 
an undervaluing of others, and a desire of dominion 
over them : the most troublesome thing in the world. 
There are four things by which it hath made itself best 
known to mankind, the consequences of which have 
brought an equal misery to its evil. The first is, an 
inordinate pursuit of knowledge. The second, an am- 
bitious seeking and craving after power. The third, an 
extreme desire of personal respect and deference. The 
last excess is that of worldly furniture and ornaments. 
To the just and true witness of the eternal God, placed 
in the souls of all people, I appeal as to the truth of these 
things. 

Sect. 3. To the first, it is plain that an inordinate de- 
sire of knowledge introduced man's misery, and brought 
an universal lapse from the glory of his primitive state. 
Adam would needs be wiser than God had made him. 
It did not serve his turn to know his Creator, and give 
him that holy homage, his being and innocence natu- 
rally engaged and excited him to ; nor to have an *' un- 
derstanding above all the beasts of the field, the fowls 
of the air, and the fishes of the sea,'"" joined with a 

^ 2 Tim. iii. 2, 3; cGejj. ii. 19—29. 



go NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

power to rule over all the visible creation of God, but 
he must be as wise as God too/ This unwarrantable 
search, and as foolish as unjust ambition, made him 
unworthy of the blessings he received from God. This 
drives him out of paradise ; and instead of being lord 
of the whole world, Adam becomes the wretchedest va- 
gabond of the earth. ^ 

Sect. 4. A strange change ! that instead of being as 
gods, they should fall below the very beasts ; in com- 
parison of whom even God had made them as gods. 
The lamentable consequence of this great defection has 
been an exchange of innocency for guilt, and a para- 
dise for a wilderness. But, which is yet worse, in this 
state Adam and Eve had got another god than the only 
true and living God : and he that had enticed them to 
all this mischief, furnished them with a vain knowledge, 
and pernicious wisdom : the skill of lies and equivoca- 
tions, shifts, evasions, and excuses. They had lost their 
plainness and sincerity ; and from an upright heart, the 
image in which God had made man, he became a crook- 
ed, twining, twisting serpent ; the image of that unrigh- 
teous spirit, to whose temptations he yielded up, with 
his obedience, his paradisical happiness. 

Sect. 5. Nor is this limited to Adam ; for all who 
have fallen short of the glory of God, are right-born 
sons of his disobedience. They, like him, have eaten 
of what they have been forbidden : they have '' com- 
mitted the things they ought not to have done, and left 
undone the things they ought to have done." They 
have sinned against that divine light of knowledge, which 
God has given them : they have grieved his spirit : and 
that dismal sentence has been executed, " In the day 
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die."^ That is, when 
thou doest the thing which thou oughtest not to do, 
thou shalt no more live in my favour, and enjoy the 
comforts of the peace of my spirit ; which is a dying to 

* <' Gen. iii. 5. • Chap, iii 4. ^ Rom.vii. s Gen. ii. 17. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. »1 

all those innocent and holy desh'es and affections, which 
God created man with : and he becomes as one cold and 
benumbed; insensible of the love of God, of his Holy 
Spirit, po\ver and wisdom ; of the light and joy of his 
countenance, and of the evidence of a good conscience, 
and the co-witnessing and approbation of God's Holy 
Spirit. 

Sect. 6. So that fallen Adam's knowledge of God 
stood no more in a daily experience of the love and v/ork 
of God in his soul, but in a notion of what he once did 
know and experience ; which being not the true and 
living wisdom that is from above, but a mere picture, 
it cannot preserve man in purity ; but puffs up, makes 
people proud, high-minded, and impatient of contra- 
diction. This was the state of the apostate Jews before 
Christ came ; and has been the condition of apostate 
Christians ever since he came : their religion standing, 
some bodily performances excepted, either in what they 
once knew of the work of God in themselves, and which 
they have revolted from ; or in an historical belief, and 
an imaginary conception and paraphrase upon the expe- 
riences and prophecies of such holy men and women 
of God, as in all ages have deserved the style and charac- 
ter of his true children. 

Sect. 7. As such a knowledge of God cannot be true, 
so by experience we find, that it ever brings forth the 
quite contrary fruits to the true wisdom. For as this is 
first pure, then peaceable, then gentle, and easy to be 
entreated : so the knowledge of degenerated and un- 
mortified men is first impure :^ for it came by the com- 
mission of evil, and is held in an evil and impure con- 
science and heart, that disobey God's law, and that 
daily do those things which they ought not to do; and 
for which they stand condemned before God's judgment- 
seat in the souls of men : the light of whose presence 
searches the most hidden thins^s of darkness, the most 

^ Jam. iii. 17. 



82 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

secret thoughts, and concealed inclination of ungodly 
men. This is the science, falsely so called ; and as it is 
impure, so it is unpeaceable, cross and hard to be en- 
treated ; froward, perverse, and persecuting : jealous 
that any should be better than they, and hating and 
abusing those that are. 

Sect. 8. It was this pride made Cain a murderer : it 
is a spiteful quality ; full of envy and revenge.' What ! 
was not his religion and worship as good as his bro- 
ther's ? He had all the exterior parts of worship : he 
offered as well as Abel, and the offering of itself might 
be as good ; but it seems the heart, that offered it, was 
not. So long ago did God regard the interior worship 
of the soul. Well ! what was the consequence of this 
difference ? Cain's pride stomached it : he could not 
bear to be outdone by his brother. He grew wrathful, 
and resolved to vindicate his offering, by revenging 
the refusal of it upon his brother's life ; and without any 
regard to natural affection, or the low and early condi- 
tion of mankind, he barbarously dyed his hands in his 
brother's blood. 

Sect. 9. The religion of the apostatized Jews did no 
better ; for, having lost the inward life, power, and 
spirit of the law, they were puffed up with that know- 
ledge they had ; and their pretences to Abraham^ 
Moses, and the promises of God, in that frame, served 
only to blow them up into an unsufferable pride, arro- 
gance and cruelty. For they could not bear true visi- 
on, when it came to visit them, and entertained the 
messengers of their peace as if they had been wolves and 
tygers. 

Sect. 10. Yea, it is remarkable, the false prophets, the 
great engineers against the true ones, were ever sure to 
persecute them as false ; and by their interest with 
earthly princes, or the poor seduced multitude, made 

• Gen. iv. 8. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

tbem the instruments of their malice. Thus it was that 
one holy prophet was sawn asunder, another stoned to 
death, &:c. So proud and obstinate is false knowledge, 
and the aspirers after it ; which made holy Stephen 
cry out, *' O ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart 
and ear, ye resist the Holy Ghost ; as did your fathers, 
so do ye." 

Sect, 11. The true knowledge came with the joy of 
angels, singing, " peace on earth, and good- will to- 
wards men :"^ the false knowledge entertained the mes- 
sage with calumnies : Christ must needs be an impostor ; 
and that must prove him so, to wit, his power of work- 
ing of miracles ; which was that which proved the con- 
trary. They stoned him, and frequently sought to kill 
him ; which at last they wickedly accomplished. But 
what was their motive to it ? Why, he cried out against 
their hypocrisy, die broad phylacteries, the honour they 
sought of men. To be short, they give the reason them- 
selves in these words; *' If we let him thus alone, all 
men will believe on him :^ that is, he will take away our 
credit with the people ; they will adhere to him, and de- 
sert us ; and so we shall lose our power and reputation 
with the multitude. 

Sect. 12. And, the truth is, he came to level their 
honour, to overthrow their rabbyship, and by his grace 
to bring the people to that inward knowledge of God, 
which they, by transgression, were departed from : that 
so they might see the deceitfulness of their blind guides^ 
who, by their vain traditions, had made void the right- 
eousness of the law : and who were so far from being 
the true doctors, and lively expounders of it, that in 
reality they w^ere the children of the devil, who was a 
proud liar, and cruel murderer from the beginning. 

Sect. 13. Their pride in false knowledge having made 
them incapable of receiving the simplicity of the gos- 

^ Acts vii. 51. 5 Luke ii. 14. *" Johnxi. 48, 

M 



ft NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

pel, Christ thanks his Father, that he had hid the mys- 
teries of it from the wise and prudent, and revealed them 
to babes.'' It was this false wisdom swelled the minds 
of the Athenians to that degree, that they despised the 
preaching of the Apostle Paul, as a vain and foolish 
thing. But that apostle, who of all the rest had an edu- 
cation in the learning of those times, bitterly reflects on 
that wisdom, so much valued by Jews and Greeks : 
^' Where (says he) is the wise ? where is the scribe ? 
where is the disputer of this world ? Hath not God 
made foolish the wisdom of this world ?"° And he gives a 
good reason for it, '* that no flesh should glory in his pre- 
sence. '"^^ Which is to say, God will stain the pride of 
man in false knowledge, that he should have nothing on 
this occasion to be proud of; it should be owing only 
to the revelation of the Spirit of God. The apostle goes 
farther, and affirms, '' that the world by wisdom knew 
not God :'"^ that is, it was so far from an help, that, as 
men use it, it was an hindrance to the true knowledge 
of God. And in his fiirst epistle to his beloved Timo- 
thy, he concludes thus : " O Timothy ! keep that 
which is committed to thy trust ; avoiding profane and 
vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so 
called ;'"" This was the sense of apostolical times, when 
the divine grace gave the true knowledge of God, and 
was the guide of Christians. 

Sect. 14. Well ! but what has been the success of 
those ages, that followed the apostolical ? any whit bet- 
ter than that of the Jewish times ? Not one jot. They 
have exceeded them ; as with their pretences to greater 
knowledge, so in their degeneracy from the true Chris- 
tian life : for though they had a more excellent pattern 
than the Jews, to whom God spoke by Moses his ser- 
vant, he, speaking to them by his beloved Son, the ex- 
press image of bis substance, the perfection of all meek- 
ness and humility ; and though they seemed addicted 
to nothing more, than an adoration of his name, and a 

" Matt. xi. 25. * i Cnr. i. 20. p 1 Cor. i. 29. 

1100^1.21. I 1 Tim. vi. 20. ' 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 85 

veneration to the memory of his blessed disciples and 
apostles ; yet so great was their defection from the in- 
ward power and life of Christianity in the soul, that 
their respect was little more than formal and ceremo- 
nious. For notwithstanding they, like the Jews,- were 
mighty zealous in garnishing their sepulchres, and cu- 
rious in carving of their images ; not only keeping with 
any pretence what might be the reliques of their ^ per- 
sons, but recommending a thousand things as reliques 
which are purely fabulous, and very often ridiculous 
and to be sure altogether unchristian : yet, as to the 
great and weighty things of the Christian law, viz. love^ 
meekness, and self-denial, they were degenerated : they 
grew high-minded, proud, boasters, without natural 
affection, curious and controversial; ever perplexing 
the church with doubtful and dubious questions : fil- 
ling the people with disputations, strife and wrangling, 
drawing them into parties, till at last they fell into 
blood ; as if they had been the worse for being once 

Christians. ^ i 01 • .• 1 

O the miserable state of these pretended Christians ! 
that instead of Christ's and his apostles doctrine, of 
loving enemies, and blessing them that curse them, they 
should teach the people, under the notion of Christian 
zeal, most inhumanly to butcher one another ; and in- 
stead of suffering their own blood to be shed for the 
testimony of Jesus, they should shed the blood of the 
witnesses of Jesus, for heretics : thus that subtile ser- 
pent, or crafty evil-spirit, that tempted Adam out of in- 
nocency, and the Jews from the law of God, has be- 
^uiled the Christians, by lying vanities, to depart from 
the Christian law of holiness, and so they are become 
slaves to him ; for he rules in the hearts of the children 
of disobedience^ 

Sect. 15. And it is observable, that as pride, which 
is ever followed by superstition and obstinacy, put 
Adam upon seeking an higher station than God placed 
him in ; and as the Jews, out of the same pride, to out-do 



86 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

their pattern, given them of God by Moses upon the 
mount, set their post by God's post, and taught for doc- 
trines their own traditions, insomuch that those that re- 
fused conformity to them ran the hazard of Crucify, 
crucify ; so the nominal christians, from the same sin 
of pride, with great superstition and arrogance, have in- 
troduced, instead of a spiritual worship and discipline, 
that which is evidently ceremonious and worldly ; with 
such innovations and traditions of men, as are the fruit 
of the wisdom that is from below : witness their nume- 
rous and perplexed councils and creeds, with, Conform, 
or burn, at the end of them. 

Sect. 16. And as this unwarrantable pride set them 
first at work, to pervert the spirituality of the Christian 
cult, m.aking it rather to resemble the shadowy religion 
of the Jews, and the gaudy worship of the Egyptians, 
than the great plainness and simplicity of the Christian 
institution, which is neither to resemble that of the 
mountain, nor the other of Jerusalem ; so has the same 
pride and arrogancy spurred them on, by all imaginable 
cruelties, to maintain this great Diana of theirs. No 
meek supplications, nor humble remonstrances of those 
that kept close to primitive purity in worship and doc- 
trine, could prevail with these nominal Christians, to 
dispense with the imposition of their un- apostolical tra- 
ditions. But as the ministers and bishops of these de- 
generate Christians, left their painful visitation and 
care over Christ's flock, and grew ambitious, covetous, 
and luxurious, resembling rather worldly potentates, 
than the humble-spirited and mortified followers of the 
blessed Jesus : so almost every history tells us, with 
what pride and cruelty, blood and butchery, and that 
with unusual and exquisite tortures, they have perse- 
secuted the holy members of Christ, out of the world ; 
and that upon such anathemas, that as far as they could, 
they have disappointed them of the blessings of heaven 
too. These, true Christians call martyrs ; but the 
ciergy, like the persecuting Jews, have stiled them bias- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 87 

phemers and heretics ; in which they have fulfilled the 
prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ; who did not say, 
that they should think they do the gods good service to 
kill the Christians, his dear followers, which might re- 
fer to the persecutions of the idolatrous Gentiles, but 
that they should think they do God good service to kill 
them :* which shews, that they should be such as pro- 
fessedly owned the true God, as the apostate Christians 
have all along pretended to do. So that they must be 
those wolves, that the apostle foretold should arise out 
of themselves, and worry the flock of Christ, after the 
great falling away should commence, that was foretold 
by him, and made necessary, in order to the proving of 
the faithful, and the revelation of the great mystery of 
iniquity.* 

I shall conclude this head with this assertion, that it 
is too undeniable a truth, where the clergy has been 
most in power and authority, and has had the greatest 
influence upon princes and states, there has been most 
confusions, wrangles, blood-shed, sequestrations, im- 
prisonments, and exiles : to the justifying of which, I 
call the testimony of the records of all times. How it 
is in our age, I leave to the experience of the living ; 
yet there is one demonstration that can hardly fail us : 
the people are not converted, but debauched, to a de- 
gree, that time will not allow us an example. The 
worship of Christendom is visible, ceremonious, and 
gaudy ; the clergy ambitious of worldly preferments, 
under the pretence of spiritual promotions ; making the 
earthly revenues of church- men, much the reason of 
their function ; being almost ever sure to leave the pre- 
sent smaller incumbence, to solicit and obtain benefices 
of larger title and income. So that with their pride and 
avarice, which good old Peter foresaw would be their 
snares, they have drawn after them, ignorance, misery, 
and irreligion upon Christendom. 



s John xvi. Z « Acls xx. 29 



88 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Sect. 17. The way of recovery from this miserable de- 
fection is, to come to a saving knowledge of religion : 
that is, an experience of the divine work of God in the 
soul ; to obtain which, be diligent to obey the grace 
that appears in thy own soul, O man ! that brings sal- 
vation, it turns thee out of the broad way, into the nar- 
row way ; from thy lusts to thy duty, from sin to holi- 
ness, from Satan to God."" Thou must see and abhor 
self, thou must watch, and thou must pray, and thou 
must fast ; thou must not look at thy tempter, but at 
thy preserver ; avoid ill company, retire to thy solitudes, 
and be a chaste pilgrim in this evil world : and thus thou 
wilt arrive to the knowledge of God and Christ, that 
brings. eternal ?ife to the soul: a well-grounded assu- 
rance from what a man feels and knows within himself; 
such shall not be moved with evil tidings. 



'iTit.ii.4, 11, 12, 14. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 89 



CHAP. VIII. 



Sect. 1. Pride craves power as well as knowledge. 2. The 
case of Korah, &c. a proof. 3. Absalom's ambition confirms 
it. 4. Nebuchadnezzar's does the like. 5. The history of 
Pisistratus, Alexander, Caesar, &c. shews the same thing. 
6. The Turks are a lively proof, who have shed much blood 
to gratify pride for power. 7. The last ten years in Christen- 
dom exceed in proof of this. 8. Ambition rests not in courts, 
it finds room in private breasts too, and spoils families and so- 
cieties. 9. Their peace is great, that limit their desires by 
God's grace, and having power, use it to the good of others. 

Sect. 1. JB^'^ let us see the next most common, 
eminent, and mischievous effect of this evil. Pride does 
extremely crave power, than which, not one thing has 
proved more troublesome and destructive to mankind. 
I need not labour myself much in evidence of this, since 
most of the wars of nations, depopulation of kingdoms, 
ruin of cities, with the slavery and misery that have fol- 
lowed, both our own experience and unquestionable his- 
tories acquaint us to have been the effect of ambition, 
which is the lust of pride after power. 

Sect. 2. How specious soever might be the pretences 
of Korah, Dathan and Abiram against Moses, it wask 
their emulation of his mighty power in the camp of Is- 
rael, that put them upon conspiracies and mutinies. 
They longed for his authority, and their not having it 
was his crime, for they had a mind to be the heads and 
leaders of the people. The consequence of which was, 
a remarkable destruction to themselves, and all their un- 
happy accomplices. 



90 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I, 

Sect. 3. Absalom too was for the people's rights, 
agamst the tyranny of his father and his king ;^ at least, 
with this pretence he palliated his ambition : but his re- 
bellion shewed he was impatient for power, and that he 
resolved to sacrifice his duty, as a son and subject, to 
the importunities of his restless pride, which brought a 
miserable death to himself, and an extraordinary slaugh- 
ter upon his army. 

Sect. 4. Nebuchadnezzar is a lively instance of the ex- 
cessive lust of pride for power. His successes and em- 
pire were too heady for him : so much too strong for 
his understanding, that he forgot he did not make him- 
self, or that his power had a superior. He makes an 
image, and all must bow to it, or be burnt. And when 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to comply, 
^' Who, (says he) is that God that shall deliver you out 
of my hands ?" And notwithstanding the convictions 
he had upon him, at the constancy of those excellent 
men, and Daniel's interpretation of his dreams, it was 
not long before the pride of his power had filled his heart, 
and then his mouth, with this haughty question, '* Is 
not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of 
the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the ho- 
nour of my majesty ?'"" But we are told, that while the 
words were in his mouth, '' a voice from heaven re- 
buked the pride of his spirit, and he was driven 
from the society of men, to graze among the beasts of 
field." 

Sect. 5. If we look into the histories of the world, we 
shall find many instances to prove the mischief of this 
kist of pride. I will mention a few of them for their 
sakes, who have either not read or considered them. 

Solon made Athens free by his excellent constitution 
of laws : but the ambition of Pisistratus began the ruin 
of it before his eyes. Alexander, not contented with 
his own kingdom, invades others, and filled with spoil 

» 2 Sam. XV. ** Dan. iii. 15. - Dan. iv. 30. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 90 

and slaughter those countries he subdued : and it was 
not ill said by him, who, when Alexander accused him 
of piracy, told him to his face, that Alexander was the 
greatest pirate in the world. It was the same ambition 
that made Caesar turn traitor to his masters, and with 
their own armv, put into his hand for their service, sub- 
due them to his yoke, and usurp the government ; 
which ended in the expulsion of freedom and virtue to- 
gether in that commonwealth ; for goodness quickly 
grew to be faction in Rome ; and that sobriety and wis- 
dom, which ever rendered her senators venerable, be- 
came dangerous to their safety ; insomuch that his suc- 
cessors hardly left one they did not kill or banish : un- 
less such as turned to be flatterers of their unjust acquisi- 
tion, and the imitators of their debauched manners. 

Sect. 6. The Turks are a great proof to the point in 
hand ; who, to extend their dominion, have been the 
cause of sheddmg much blood, and laying many stately 
countries waste. And yet they are to be out-done by 
apostate Christians ; whose practice is therefore more 
condemnable, because they have been better taught : 
they have had a master of another doctrine and example. 
It is true, they call him Lord still, but let their ambi- 
tion reign : they love power more than one another ; 
and to get it, kill one another ; though charged by him, 
not to strive, but to love and serve one another/ And, 
w^hich adds to the tragedy, all natural affection is sacri- 
ficed to the fury of this lust : and therefore are stories 
so often stained with the murder of parents, children, 
uncles, nephews, masters, &.c. 

Sect. 7. If we look abroad into remoter parts of the 
w^orld, we shall rarely hear of wars ; but in Christen- 
dom, of peace. A very trifle is too often made a 
ground of quarrel here : nor can any league be so sa- 
cred or inviolable, that arts shall not be used to evade 
and dissolve it, to increase dominion. No matter who, 

' Matt, xviii. 1 to 6. Mark ix.33 to fv . 

N 



92 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

nor how many, are slain, made widows and orphans, or 
lose their estates and livelihoods : what countries are 
ruined ; what towns and cities spoiled ; if by all these 
things the ambitious can but arrive at their ends ? To go 
no farther back than sixty years, that little period of 
time will furnish us with many wars begun upon ill 
grounds, and ended in great desolation. Nay, the last 
twelve years of our time make as pregnant a demon- 
stration, as we can furnish ourselves with from the 
records of any age. It is too tedious, nor is it my bu- 
siness to be particular : it has been often well observed 
by others, and is almost known to all ; 1 mean the French, 
Spanish, German, English, and Dutch wars. 

Sect. 8. But ambition does not only dwell in courts, 
and senates : it is too natural to every private breast to 
strain for power. We daily see how much men labour 
their utmost wit and interest to be great, to get higher 
places, or greater titles than they have, that they may 
look bigger, and be more acknowledged ; take place of 
their former equals, and so equal those that were once 
their superiors ; compel friends, and be revenged on en- 
emies. This makes Christianity so little loved of 
worldly men, it's kingdom is not of this world : and 
though they may speak it fair, it is the world they love ; 
that without uncharitableness we may truly say, peo- 
ple profess Christianity, but they follow the world. 
They are not for seeking the kingdom of heaven first,* 
and the righteousness thereof, and to trust God with the 
rest ; but for securing to themselves the wealth and 
glory of this world, and adjourning the care of salvation 
to a sick-bed, and the extreme moments of life ; if yet 
they believe a life to come. 

Sect. 9. To conclude this head : great is their peace, 
who know a limit to their ambitious minds; that have 
learnt to be contented with the appointments and bounds 
of providence ; that are not careful to be great, but be- 

^Matt.vi.SS, 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 93 

ing great, are humble, and do good. Such keep their 
wits with their consciences, and with an even mind, 
can at all times measure the uneven world, rest fixed in 
the midst of all its uncertainties, and as becomes those 
who have an interest in a better, in the good time and 
will of God, cheerfully leave this ; when the ambitious, 
conscious of their evil practices, and weighed down to 
their graves with guilt, must go to a tribunal, that they 
can neither awe nor bribe. 



CHAP. IX. 

Sect. 1. The third evil effect of pride, is love of honour and 
respect. Too many are guilty of it. 2. It had like to have 
cost Mordecai dear. Great mischief has befallen nations on 
this account. 3. The world is out in the business of true 
honour, as well as in that of true science. 4. Reasons why 
the author, and the rest of the people he walks with, use not 
these fashions. 5. The first is, the sense they had in the 
hour of their conviction, of the unsuitableness of them to the 
Christian spirit and practice, and that the root they came from 
was pride and self-love. 6. Reproach could not move them 
from that sense and practice accordingly. 7. They do it 
not to make sects, or for distinction. 8. Nor yet to coun- 
tenance formality, but passively let drop vain customs, and 
so are negative to forms. 9. Their behaviour is a test 
upon the world. 10. And this cross to the world a test upon 
them. 11. The second reason against them is their empti- 
ness. 12. Honour in scripture, is not so taken as it is in the 
world* It is used for obedience. 13. It is used for prefer? 



94 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

merit. 14. A digression about folly in a scripture sense. 15. 
Honour is used for reputation. 16. Honour is also attribut- 
ed to functions and capacities, by way of esteem. 17. Ho- 
nour is taken for help and countenance of inferiors. 18. Ho- 
nour is used for service and esteem to all states and capaci- 
ties ; honour all men. 19. Yet there is a limitation in a sense 
to the righteous by the Psalmist ; to honour the godly and 
contemn the v/icked. 20. Little of this honour found in 
the world's fashions. 21. The third reason against them is, 
they mock and cheat people of the honour due to them* 
22. The avithor and his friends are for true honour. 23» 
The fourth reason is, that if the fashions carried true ho- 
nour in them, the debauched could honour men, which, 
cannot be. 24. The fifth reason is, that then men of spite, 
hypocrisy, and revenge, could pay honour, which is im- 
possible. 25. The sixth reason is drawn from the anti- 
quity of true honour. 26. The seventh reason is from 
the rise of the vain honour, and the teachers of it, where- 
in the clown, upon a comparison, excels the courtier for 
a man of breeding. 27. The eighth reason against these 
honours is, that they may be had for money, which true 
honour cannot be. 28. The ninth and last reason is, be- 
cause the holy scripture expressly forbids them to true 
Christians. 29. As in the case of Mordecai. 30. A pas- 
sage between a bishop and the author in this matter. 31. 
Likewise the case of Elihu in Job. 32. Also the doc- 
trine of Christ to his disciples. 33. Paul against con- 
forming to the world's fashions. 34. Peter against fashi- 
oning ourselves according to the world's lust. 25, James 
against respect to persons. 36. Yet Christians are civil 
and mannerly in a right way. 37. But unlike the world 
in the nature of it, and motives to it. 38. Testimonies 
in favour of our dissent and practice. 

Sect. 1. 1 HE third evil effect of pride is, an ex- 
cessive desire of personal honour and respect. 

Pride therefore loves power, that she might have ho- 
mage, and that every one may give her honour ; and 
such as are wanting in that, expose themselves to her 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 95 

anger and revenge. And as pride, so this evil effect, is 
more or less diffused through corrupt mankind ; and has 
been the occasion of great animosity and mischief in the 
world. 

Sect. 2. We have a pregnant instance in holy writ, 
what malice and revenge the stomach of proud man is 
capable of, when not gratified in this particular. It 
had almost cost Mordecai his neck, and the whole peo- 
ple of the Jews their lives, because he would not bow 
himself to Haman, who was a great favourite to king 
Ahasuerus. And the practice of the world, even in 
our own age, will tell us, that not striking a flag or 
sail ; and not saluting certain ports or garrisons ; yea, 
less things have given rise to mighty wars between 
states and kingdoms, to the expence of much treasure, 
but more blood. The like has followed about the prece- 
dency of princes, and their ambassadors. Also the en- 
vy, quarrels and mischiefs, that have happened among 
private persons, upon conceit that they have not been 
respected to their degree of quality among men, with 
hat, knee, or title : to be sure duels and murders not a 
few. I was once myself in France * set upon abouteleven 
at night, as I was walking to my lodging, by a person 
that way-laid me, with his naked sword in his hand, 
who demanded satisfaction of me, for taking no notice 
of him, at a time when he civilly saluted me with his 
hat ; though the truth was, I saw him not when he did 
it. I will suppose he had killed me, for he made several 
passes at me, or I in my defence had killed him, when 
I disarmed him (as the earl of Crawford's servant saw, 
that was by) I ask any man of understanding or consci- 
ence, if the whole ceremony were worth the life of a 
man, considering the dignity of the nature, and the im- 
portance of the life of man, both with respect to God his 
Creator, himself, and the benefit of civil society ? 



* Which was before I professed the communion I am now of. 



96 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Sect. 3. But the truth is, the world, under its degene- 
racy from God, is as much out of the way, as to true 
honour and respect, as in other things : for mere shews, 
and those vain ones too, are much of the honour and 
respect that are expressed in the world : that a man 
may say concerning them as the apostle speaks of science, 
that is, they are honours and respects " falsely so call- 
ed ;" having nothing of the nature of true honour and re- 
spect in them ; but as degenerate men, loving to be ho- 
noured, first devised them ; so pride only loves and seeks 
them, and is affronted and angry for want of them. Did 
men know a true Christian state, and the honour that 
comes from above, Avhich Jesus teaches,* they would 
not covet these very vanities, much less insist upon 
them. 

Sect. 4. And here give me leave to set down the rea- 
sons more particularly, why I, and the people with whom 
I walk in rehgious society, have declined as vain and 
foolish, several worldly customs and fashions of respect, 
much in request at this time of day : and I beseech thee, 
reader, to lay aside all prejudice and scorn, and with the 
meekness and inquiry of a sober and discreet mind, read 
and weigh what may be here alleged in our defence : 
and if we are mistaken, rather pity and inform, than des- 
pise and abuse, our simplicity. 

Sect. 5. The first and most pressing motive upon our 
spirits to decline the practice of these present customs of 
pulling off the hat, bowing the body or knee, and giv- 
ing people gaudy titles and epithets, in our salutations 
and addresses, was, that savour, sight, and sense, that 
God, by his light and spirit, has given us of the Chris- 
tian world's apostacy from God, and the cause and ef- 
fects of that great and lamentable defection. In the dis- 
covery of which, the sense of our state came first before 
us, and we were made to see him whom we pierced, and 
to mourn for it. A day of humiliation overtook us, and 
we fainted to that pleasure and delight we once loved. 

a John V. 44. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 97 

Now our works went beforehand to judgment, and a 
thorough search was made, and the words of the prophet 
became well understood by us. " Who can abide the 
day of his coming ? And who shall stand when he ap- 
pears ? He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap."^ 
And, as the apostle said, " If the righteous scarcely be 
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ?" 
*' Wherefore, says the apostle Paul, knowing the terrors 
of the Lord, we persuade men c'"' what to do ? To 
come out of the nature, spirit, lusts, and customs of this 
wicked world ; remembering that, as Jesus has said, for 
every idle word that man speaketh, he shall give an ac- 
count in the day of judgment.'^ 

This concern of mind, and dejection of spirit, was 
visible to our neighbours ; and we are not ashamed to 
own, that the terrors of the Lord took such hold upon 
us, because we had long under a profession of religion 
grieved God's Holy Spirit, that reproved us in secret for 
our disobedience ; that as we abhorred to think of con- 
tinuing in our old sins, so we feared to use lawful things, 
lest we should use them unlawfully. The words of the 
prophet were fulfilled on us : '* Wherefore do I see eve- 
ry man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in tra- 
vail ?"^ Many a pang and throe have we had ; our hea- 
ven seemed to melt away, and our earth to be re- 
moved out of its place ; and we were like men, as the 
apostle said, *' upon whom the ends of the world were 
come." God knows it was so in this day, the brightness 
of his coming to our souls discovered, and the breath of 
his mouth destroyed, every plant he had not planted in 
us. He was a swift witness against every evil thought, 
and every unfruitful work : and, blessed be his name, 
we were not offended hi him, or at his righteous judg- 
ments. Now it was, that a grand inquest came upon 
our whole life : every word, thought and deed was 
brought to judgment : the root examined, and its ten- 
dency considered. " The lust of the eye, the lust of the 
flesh, and the pride of life, were opened to our view ; the 

b Mal.iii. 2. <= 1 Pet. iv. 18. 2 Cor. v. 11." 

''• Mat. xii. 36. « Jer. xxx. 6. 



98 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

mystery of iniquity in us."*^ And by knowing the evil 
leaven, and its divers evil effects in ourselves, how it 
had wrought, and what it had done, we came to have a 
sense and knowledge of the states of others : and what 
we could not, nay, we dare not let live and continue in 
ourselves, as being manifested to us to proceed from an 
evil principle in the time of man's degeneracy, we could 
not comply with in others. Now this I say, and that in 
the fear and presence of the all-seeing just God, the pre- 
sent honours and respect of the world, among other 
things, became burdensome to us ; we saw they had no 
being in paradise, that they grew in the night-time, and 
came from an ill root ; and that they only delighted a 
vain and ill mind, and that much pride and folly were 
in them. 

Sect. 6. And though we easily foresaw the storms 
of reproach that would fall upon us, for our refusing to 
practise them ; yet we w^ere so far from being shaken in 
our judgment, that it abundantly confirmed our sense 
of them. For so exalted a thing is man, and so loving 
of honour and resj>ect even from his fellow- creatures, 
that so soon as in tenderness of conscience towards God, 
we could not perform them, as formerly, he became 
more concerned than for all the rest of our differences, 
however material to salvation. So that let the honour 
of God, and our own salvation, do as it will, it w^as 
greater heresy and blasphemy to refuse him the homage 
of the hat and his usual titles of honour ; to deny to 
pledge his healths, or play with him at cards and dice, 
than any other principle we maintained ; for being less in 
his view, it seemed not so much in his way. 

Sect. 7. And though it be frequently objected, that 
w^e seek to set up outward forms of preciseness, and that 
it is but as a green ribbon, the badge of the party, the 
better to be known : I do declare in the fear of Al- 
mighty God, that these are but the imaginations and 

f 1 John ii. 16. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 99 

vain constructions of unsensible men, that have not had 
that sense, which the Lord hath given us, of what arises 
from the right and the WTong root in man : and when 
such censurers of our simplicity shall be inwardly touch- 
ed and awakened, by the mighty power of God, and 
see things as they are in their proper natures and seeds, 
they will then know their own burden, and easily acquit 
us without the imputation of folly or hypocrisy therein. 

Sect. 8. To say, that wg strain at small things, which 
becomes not people of so fair pretensions to liberty and 
freedom of spirit : I answer with meekness, truth and 
sobriety ; first, nothing is small, that God makes mat- 
ter of conscience to do, or leave undone. Next, as in- 
considerable as they are made, by those that object upon 
us, they are much set by ; so greatly, as for our not 
giving them, to be beaten, imprisoned, refused justice, 
&c. To say nothing of the derision and reproach that 
hath been frequently flung at us on this account. So 
that if we had wanted a proof of the truth of our inward 
belief and judgment, the very practice of them that op- 
posed it would have abundantly confirmed us. But 
let it suffice to us, that " wisdom is justified of her chil- 
dren :"^ we only passively let fall the practice of what 
we are taught to believe is vain and unchristian ; in which 
we are negative to forms : for we leave off, we do not set 
up forms. 

Sect. 9. The w^orld is so set upon the ceremonious 
part and outside of things, that it has well beseemed the 
wisdom of God in all ages, to bring forth his dispensa- 
tions with very different appearances to their settled 
customs ; thereby contradicting human inventions, and 
proving the integrity of his confessors. Nay, it is a 
test upon the world : it tries what patience, kindness, 
sobriety, and moderation they have : if the rough and 
homely outside of truth stumble not their minds from 
the reception of it, whose beauty is within, it makes a 

gMatl.xi. 19. 

o 



100 . NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

great discovery upon them. For he who refuses a pre- 
vious jewel, because it is presented in a plain box, will 
never esteem it to its value, nor set his heart upon keep- 
ing it : therefore I call it a test, because it shews where 
the hearts and aifections of people stick, after all their 
great pretences to more excellent things. 

Sect. 10. It is also a mighty trial upon God's people, 
in that they are put upon the discovery of their contra- 
diction to the customs generally received and esteemed in 
the world ; which exposes them to the wonder, scorn, 
and abuse of the multitude. But there is an hidden 
treasure in it ; it inures us to reproach, it learns us to 
despise the false reputation of the w^orld, and silently to 
undergo the contradiction and scorn of its votaries ; 
and finally, with a Christian meekness and patience, to 
overcome their injuries and reproaches. Add to this ; 
it weans thee off thy familiars ; for by being slighted of 
them as a ninney, a fool, a frantic, Sec. thou art deli- 
vered from a greater temptation, and that is, the power 
and influence of their vain conversation. And last of 
all, it lists thee of the company of the blessed, mocked, 
persecuted Jesus ; to fight under his banner, against the 
world, the flesh, and the devil : that after having faith- 
fully suffered with them in a state of humiliation, thou 
mayest reign with him in a state of glorification ; who 
glorifies his poor, despised, constant followers, with the 
glory he had with his father before the world began.*" 
This was the first reason of our declining to practise the 
before-mentioned honours, respects, &c. 

Sect. 11. The second reason, why we decline and re- 
fuse the present use of these customs in our addresses 
and salutations is, from the consideration of their very 
emptiness and vanity ; that there is nothing of true ho- 
nour and respect in them, supposing them not to be evil. 
And as religion and worship are degenerated into form 
and ceremony, and they not according to primitive prac- 

J^ John xvii.5. 



Part 1. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 101 

tice neither, so is honour and respect too ; there being- 
little of that in the world, as well as of the other ; and to 
be sure, in these customs, none that is justifiable by 
scripture or reason. 

Sect. 12. In scripture, we find the word Honour often 
and diversely used. First, for obedience : as when God 
saith, *' They that honour me;"' that is, that keep 
my commandments. *' Honour the king;"^ that is, 
obey the king. " Honour thy father and mother;''^ that 
is, saith the apostle to the Ephesianfe, " Obey thy fa- 
ther and thy mother in the Lord, for that is right;"'' 
take heed to their precepts and advice ; presupposing 
always, that rulers and parents command lawful things, 
else they dishonour themselves to enjoin unlawful things; 
and subjects and children dishonour their superiors and 
parents, in complying with their unrighteous commands. 
Also, Christ uses this word so, when he says, " I have 
not a devil, but I honour my Father, and ye dishonour 
me :"'' that is, I do my Father's wall, in what I do ; but 
you will not hear me ; you reject my counsel, and will 
not obey my voice. It was not refusing hat and knee, 
nor empty titles : no, it was disobedience ; resisting him. 
that God had sent, and not believing him. This was 
the dishonour he taxed them with ; using him as an im- 
postor, that God had ordained for the salvation of the 
world. And of these dishonourers, there are but too 
many at this day. Christ has a saying to the same ef- 
fect; *' That all men should honour the Son, even as 
thev honour the Father ; and he that honoureth not the 
Son, honoureth not the Father, which hath sent him :"« 
that is, they that hearken not to Christ, and do not wor- 
ship and obey him, they do not hear, worship, nor obey 
God. As they pretended to believe in God, so they 
were to have believed in him ; he told them so. This 
is pregnantly manifested in the case of the centurion, 
whose faith was so much commended bv Christ, where, 
giving Jesus an account of his honourable station, he 

i 1 Sam. ii. 30. ^ 1 Pet. ii. 17, ^ Exod.xx. 12. 

2" Eph. vl. 1, 2. n John viii. 49. « John v. 23. 



102 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

tells him, ** He had soldiers under his authority, and 
when he said to one, Go, he went ; to another. Come, 
he came ; and to a third, Do this, he did it.'^P In this 
it was he placed the honour of his capacity, and the re- 
spect of his soldiers, and not in hats and legs ; nor are 
such customs yet in use amongst soldiers, being effemi- 
nate, and unworthy of masculine gravity. 

Sect. 13. In the next place, honour is used for pre- 
ferment to trust and eminent employments. So the 
Psalmist, speaking to God; *' For thou hast crowned 
him with glory and honour :"^ again, Honour and ma- 
jesty hast thou laid on him :"" that is, God had given 
Christ power over all his enemies, and exalted him to 
great dominion. Thus the wise man intimates, when 
he says, ^^ The fear of the Lord is the instruction of 
wisdom, and before honour is humility."^ That is, 
before advancement or preferment, is humility. Far- 
ther, he has this saying, ** As snow in summer, and as 
rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool :" 
that is, a fool is not capable of the dignity of trust, em- 
ployment, or preferment ; they require virtue, wisdom, 
integrity, diligence, of which fools are unfurnished. 
And yet, if the respects and titles, in use amongst us, 
are to go for marks of honour, Solomon's proverb will 
take place, and doubtless doth, upon the practice of this 
age, that yields so much of that honour to a great many 
of Solomon's fools ; who are not only silly men, but 
wicked too ; such as refuse instruction, and hate the 
fear of the Lord ;- which only maketh one of his wise 
xnen. 

Sect. 14. And as virtue and wisdom are the same, so 
folly and wickedness. Thus Sechem's ravishment of 
Dinah, Jacob's daughter,^ is called : so is the rebellion 
and wickedness of the Israelites in Joshua.* The 
Psalmist expresses it thus : " My wounds stink be- 

P Luke vii. 8. ^ Psal. viii. 5. ^ Psal, xxi. 5. 

s Prov. XV. 33. « Pov. xxvi. 1. » Prov. xiii. 18. 

w Gen. xxxiv. 7. ^ |osh. vii. 14, 15. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 103 

cause of my foolishness ;"y that is, his sin. And ** The 
Lord will speak peace to his saints, that they turn not 
again to folly ;"^ that is, to evil. His own iniquities, 
(says Solomon) shall take the wicked himself, and he 
shall be holden with the cords of his sins : he shall die 
without instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he 
shall go astray."* Christ puts foolishness with blas- 
phemy, pride, thefts, murders, adulteries, wickedness,^ 
&c. I was the more willing to add these passages to 
shew the difterence that there is between the mind of the 
Holy Ghost, and the notion that those ages had of fools, 
that deserve not honour, and that which is generally 
meant by fools and folly in our time ; that we may the 
better understand the disproportion there is between ho- 
nour, as then understood by the Holy Ghost, and those 
that were led thereby ; and the apprehension of it, and 
practice of these latter ages of professed Christians. 

Sect. 15. But honour is also taken for reputation, and 
so it is understood with us : *' A gracious woman (says 
Solomon) retaineth honour;"*^ that is, she keeps her 
credit; and, by her virtue, maintains her reputation of 
sobriety and chastity. In another place, " It is an ho- 
nour for a man to cease from strife ;'"^ that is, it makes 
for his reputation, as a vv^ise and good man. Christ uses 
the word thus, where he says, " A prophet is not with- 
out honour, save in his own country ;"^ that is, he has 
credit, and is valued, save at home. The apostle to the 
Thessalonians has a saying to that effect : " That every 
one of you should know how to possess his vessel in 
sanctification and honour;"^ that is, in chastity and so- 
briety. In all which, nothing of the fashions by us de- 
clined is otherwise concerned, than to be totally ex- 
cluded. 

Sect. 16, There is yet another use of the word [ho- 
nour] in scripture, and that is to functions and capaci- 

y Psal. xxxviii. 5. z Psal. Ixxxv. 8. ^ Prov. v. 22^ 23. 

b Mark vii. 21. <= Prov. xi. 16. ^ Prov. xx. 3. 

« Matt. xiii. 57. ^ 1 Thess. iv. 4, 



104 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

ties : as, ** an elder is worthy of double honour :"s that 
is, he deserves double esteem, love, and respect; being 
holy, merciful, temperate, peaceable, humble, &c. espe- 
cially one that '' labours in word and doctrine.'"" So 
Paul recommends Epaphroditus to the Philippians : 
** Receive him therefore in the Lord Vvdth all gladness, 
and hold such in reputation." As if he had said, let 
them be valued and regarded by you in what they say 
and teach. Which is the truest, and most natural and 
convincing way of testifying respect to a man of God, 
as Christ said to his disciples, " If you love me, you will 
keep my sayings." Father, the apostle bids us '* to ho- 
nour widows indeed ;" that is, such women as are of 
chaste lives, and exemplary virtue, are honourable. 
Marriage is honourable too, with this proviso, that the 
bed be undefiled :' so that the honour of marriage, is the 
chastity of the married. 

Sect. 17. The word Honour in the scripture, is also 
used of superiors to inferiors ; which is plain in that of 
Ahasuerus to Haman : " What shall be done to the man 
whom the king delighteth to honour ?"^ Why, he 
mightily advanced him, as Mordecai afterwards. And 
more particularly it is said, *^ That the Jews had light, 
and gladness, and joy, and honour :"^ that is, they escap- 
ed the persecution that was like to fall upon them, and, 
by the means of Esther and Mordecai, they enjoyed not 
only peace, but favour and countenance too. In this 
sense, the apostle Peter advised men, ^' to honour their 
wives ;" that is to love, value, cherish, countenance and 
esteem them for their fidelity and affection to their hus- 
bands ; for their tenderness and care over their children, 
and for their diligence and circumspection in their fami 
lies :"" there is no ceremonious behaviour, or gaudy ti- 
tles, requisite to express this honour. Thus God ho- 
nours holy men : *' They (says the Lord) that honour 
me, I will honour ; and they that despise me, shall be 



g 1 Tim. V. 17. '^ Philip, ii. 29. ' Heb. xiii. 4. 

^ Esth. vi. 6. ' Estb. viii, 16. ^ 1 Pet. ilL. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 105 

lightly esteemed :"" that is, I will do good to tliem, I 
will love, bless, countenance, and prosper them that ho- 
nour me, that obey me : but they that despise me, that 
resist my spirit, and break my law, they shall be lightly 
esteemed, little set by, or accounted of; they shall not 
find favour with God, nor righteous men. And so we 
see it daily among men : if the great visit, or concern 
themselves to aid the poor, we say, that such a great 
man did me the honour to come and see or help me in 
my need. 

Sect. 18. 1 shall conclude this with one passage more, 
and that is a very large, plain, and pertinent one : '* Ho- 
nour all men, and love the brotherhood :"° that is, love 
is above honour, and that is reserved for the brother- 
hood. But honour, which is esteem and regard, that 
thou owest to all men ; and if all, then thy inferiors. 
But why, for all men ? Because they are the creation *^ 
of God, and the noblest part of his creation too ; they 
are also thy own kind : be natural, have bowels, and 
assist them with what thou canst ; be ready to perform 
any real respect, and yield them any good or counte- 
nance thou canst. 

Sect. 19. And yet there seems a limitation to this 
command, honour all men, in that godly passage of 
David, " Who shall abide in thv tabernacle ? who shall 
dwell in thy holy hill ? He in whose eyes a vile person 
is contemned ; but he honoureth them that fear the 
Lord."P Here honour is confined and affixed to godiy 
persons, and dishonour made the duty of the righteous 
to the wicked, and a mark of their being righteous, that 
they dishonour, that is, slight or disregard them. To 
conclude this scripture-inquiry after honour, 1 shall 
contract the subject of it under three capacities ; supe- 
riors, equals, and inferiors : honour to superiors, is obe-- 
dience ; to equals, love ; to inferiors, countenance and 
help : that is honour after God's mind, and the holy 
people's fashion of old. 

n 1 Sam, ii. 30. o 1 Pel. \\.\7. p P^al. xv. 4. 



105 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I- 

Sect. 20. But how little of all this is to be seen or had 
in a poor empty liat, bow, cringe, or gaudy fluttering 
title ? Let the truth- speaking witness of God in all 
mankind judge. For I must not appeal to corrupt, 
proud, and self-seeking man, of the good or evil of these 
customs ; that, as little as he would render them, are 
loved and sought by him, and he is out of humour, and 
angry, if he has them not. 

This is our second reason, why we refuse to practise 
the accustomed ceremoniesof honour and respect, because 
we find no such notion or expression, of honour and 
respect, recommended to us by the Holy Ghost in the 
scriptures of truth. 

Sect. 21. Our third reason, for not using them as tes- 
timonies of honour and respect is, because there is no 
discovery of honour or respect to be made by them : it 
is rather eluding and equivocating it ; cheating people 
of the honour or respect that is due to them ; giving 
them nothing in the shew of something. There is in 
them no obedience to superiors ; no love to equals ; no 
help or countenance to inferiors. 

Sect. 22. We are, we declare to the whole world, 
for true honour and respect : we honour the king, our 
parents, our masters, our magistrates, our landlords, 
one another, yea all men, after God's way, used by holy 
men and women of old time : but we refuse these cus- 
toms, as vain and deceitful ; not answering the end they 
are used for. 

Sect. 23. But fourthly, there is yet more to be said : 
we find that vain, loose, and worldly people, are the 
great lovers and practisers of them, and most deride 
our simplicity of behaviour. Now we assuredly know^, 
from the sacred testimonies, that those people cannot give 
true honour, that live in a dishonourable spirit ; they 
understand it not : but they can give the hat and knee; 
and that they are very liberal of; nor are any more ex- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. lOr 

pert at it. This is to us, a proof, that no true honour 
can be testified by those customs, which vanity and loose- 
ness love and use. 

Sect. 24. Next to them, I will add hypocrisy and 
revenge too. For how little do many care for each 
other ? Nay, what spite, envy, animosity, secret back- 
biting, and plotting one against another, under the use 
of these idle respects ; till passion, too strong for cun- 
ning, break through hypocrisy into open affront and re- 
venge. It cannot be so with the scripture-honour : to 
obey, or prefer a man, out of spite, is not usually done ; 
and to love, help, serve, and countenance a person, in 
order to deceive and be revenged of him., is a thing ne- 
ver heard of: these admit of no hypocricy, nor revenge. 
Men do not these things to palliate ill-will, which are 
the testimonies of quite the contrary. It is absurd to 
imagine it, because impossible to be done. 

Sect. 25. Our sixth reason is, that honour was from 
the beginning, but hat-respects and most titles are of 
late : therefore there was true honour before hats or ti- 
tles ; and consequently true honour stands not in them. 
And that which ever was the way to express true honour, 
is the best way still ; and this the scripture teaches bet- 
ter than dancing- masters can do. 

Sect. 26. Seventhly, if honour consists in such like 
ceremonies, then will it follow, that they are most capa- 
ble of shewing honour, who perform it most exactly, 
according to the mode or fashion of the times ; conse- 
quently, that man hath not the measure of true honour, 
from a just and reasonable principle in himself, but by 
the means and skill of the fantastic dancing- masters of 
the times : and for this cause it is we see, that many 
give much money to have their children learn their ho- 
nours, falsely so called. And what doeth this but totally 
exclude the poor country people ; who, though they 
plough, sow, till, reap, go to market ; and in all things 
obey their justices, landlords, fathers, and masters, with 

P 



108 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

sincerity and sobriety, rarely use those ceremonies ; but 
if they do, it is so awkwardly and meanly, that they are 
esteemed by a court-critic so ill-favoured, as only lit to 
make a jest of, and be laughed at : but what sober man 
will not deem their obedience beyond the other's vanity 
and hypocrisy ? This base notion of honour turns out 
of doors the true, and sets the false in its place. Let it 
be farther considered, that the way or fashion of doing 
it is much more in the design of its performers as well as 
view of its spectators, than the respect itself. Whence 
it is commonly said, he is a man of good mein ; or, she 
is a woman of exact behaviour. And what is this beha- 
viour, but fantastic, cramp postures, and cringings, un- 
natural to their shape, and if it were not fashionable, ri- 
diculous to the view of all people ; and therefore to the 
Eastern countries a proverb ? 

Sect. 27. But yet eighthly, real honour consists not in 
a hat, bow, or title, because all these things may be had 
for money. For which reason, how many dancing- 
schools, plays, Sec. are there in the land, to which youth 
are generally sent to be educated in these vain fashions ? 
whilst they are ignorant of the honour that is of God, 
and iheir minds are allured to visible things that perish ; 
and instead of remembering their Creator, are taken up 
with toys and fopperies ; and sometimes so much worse, 
as to cost themselves a disinheriting, and their indis- 
creet parents grief and misery all their days. If parents 
would honour God in the help of his poor, with the sub- 
stance they bestow on such an education, they would 
find a better account in the end.^ 

Sect. 2S, But lastly, We cannot esteem bows, titles, 
and pulling off of hats, to be real honour, because such 
like customs, have been prohibited by God, his Son and 
servants in days past. This I shall endeavour to shew 
by three or four express authorities. 

<? Prov. iii. 9. 



PartI; no cross, no crown. 109 

Sect. 29. My first example and authority is taken 
from the story of Mordecai and Haman ; so close to this 
point, that mcthinks it should at least command silence 
to the objections frequently advanced against us. Ha- 
man was first minister of state, and favourite to king 
Ahasuerus. The text says, '' That the king set his seat 
above all the princes that w^ere with him ; and all the 
king's servants bowed, and reverenced Haman ; for the 
king had so commanded concerning him : but Mordecai 
(it seems) bowed not, nor did him reverence."^ This, 
at first, made ill for Mordecai : a gallows was prepared 
for him at Haman's command. But the sequel of the 
story shews, that Haman proved his own invention, and 
ended his pride with his life upon it. Well now, speak- 
ing as the world speaks, and looking upon Mordecai 
without the knowledge of the success ; was not Morde- 
cai a very clown, at least a silly, morose, and humor- 
ous man, to run such a hazard for a trifle ! W hat hurt 
had it done him to have bowed to, and honoured one the 
king honoured ? did he not despise the king, in disre- 
garding Haman ? nay, had not the king commanded 
that respect ? and are not we to honour and obey the 
king ? One would have thought, he might have bowed 
for the king's sake whatever he had in his heart, and 
yet have come off well enough ; for that he bowed 
not merely to Haman, but to the king's authority ; be- 
sides, it was but an innocent ceremony. But it seems 
Mordecai was too plain and stout, and not fine and 
subtil enough to avoid the displeasure of Haman. 

Howbeit, he was an excellent man : ''he feared God, 
and wrought righteousness.'^ And in this very thing 
also, he pleased God, and even the king too at last, that 
had most cause to be angry with him : for he advanced 
him to Haman's dignity, ^nd if it could be, to greater 
honour. It is true, sad news first came ; no less than 
destruction to Mordecai, and the whole people of the 
Jews besides, for his sake: but Mordecai's integrity and 
humiliation, his fasting and strong cries to God prevail* 

? Esth. iii. Ij Z 



110 ^ NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

ed, and the people were saved, and poor condemned 
Mordecai comes, after all, to be exalted above the 
princes. O this has great doctrine in it, to all those 
that are in their spiritual exercises and temptations, 
whether in this or any other respect ! They that en- 
dure faithful in that which they are convinced God re- 
quires of them, though against the grain and humour of 
the world, and themselves too, they shall find a blessed 
recompense in the end. My brethren, remember the 
cup of cold water ! '' We shall reap, if we faint not :" 
and call to mind, that our captain bowed not to him 
that told him, " If thou wilt fall down and worship me, 
I will give thee all the glory of the world :'" shall we bow 
then ? O no ! let us follow our blessed leader. 

Sect. 30. But before I leave this section, it is fit I add 
that in conference with a late bishop, and none of the 
least eminent, upon this subject and instance, I remem- 
ber he sought to evade it thus : Mordecai, says he, did 
not refuse to bow, as it was a testimony of respect to the 
king's favourite ; but he being a figure and type of 
Christ, he refused it, because Haman was of the uncir- 
cumcision, and ought to bow to him rather. To which 
I replied ; that allowing Mordecai to be a figure of 
Christ, and the Jews of God's people or church ; and 
that as the Jews were saved bv Mordecai, so the church 
is saved by Christ ; this makes for me ; for then by that 
reason, the spiritual circumcision, or people of Christ, 
are not to receive and bow to the fashions and customs 
of the spiritual uncircumcision, who are the children of 
the world ; of which, such as were condemnable so long 
ago, in the time of the type and figure, can by no means 
be justifiably received or practised in the time of the 
anti-type or substance itself. On the contrary, this 
shews expressly, we are faithfully to decline such world- 
ly customs, and not to fashion ourselves according to 
the conversation of earthly-minded people : but be re- 
newed and changed in our ways ; and keep close to our 

• Matt. iv. 8, 9. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN- 111 

Mordecai, who having not bowed, we must not bow, 
that are his people and followers. And whatever be our 
suffering, or reproaches, they will have an end : Morde- 
cai our captain, thai appears for his people, throughout 
all the provinces, in the king's gate, will deliver us at 
last ; and, for his sake, we shall be favoured and loved 
of the king himself too. So powerful is faithful Mor- 
decai at last. Therefore let us all look to Jesus, our 
Mordecai, the Israel indeed; he that has power with God, 
and would not bow in the hour of temptation, but has 
mightily prevailed : and therefore is a prince, for ever, 
and of his government there shall never be an end. 

Sect. 31. The next scripture instance I urge against 
these customs, is a passage in Job, thus expressed : 
*' Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person ; 
neither let me give flattering titles unto man, for I know- 
not to give flattering titles : in so doing my Maker 
would soon take me away.'"" The question that will 
arise upon the allegation of this scripture, is this, viz. 
What titles are flattering ? The answer is as obvious, 
namely, Such as are empty and fictitious, and make him 
more than he is. As to call a man what he is not, to 
please him ; or lo exalt him beyond his true name, of- 
fice, or desert, to gain upon his affection : who, it may 
be, lusteth to honour and respect : such as these, Most 
excellent, most sacred, your grace, your lordship, most 
dread majesty, right honourable, right worshipful, may- 
it please your majesty, your grace, your lordship, your 
honour, your worship, and the like unnecessary titles 
and attributes ; calculated only to please and tickle poor, 
proud, vain, yet mortal man. Likewise to call man 
what he i§ not, as my lord, my master, &:c. and wise, 
just, or good, when he is neither, only to please him, or 
shew him respect. 

It was familiar thus to do among the Jews, under 
their degeneracy ; wherefore one came to Christ, and 
said; " Good master, what shall I do to have eternal 

«Job XXXU.21, 22. 



112 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

life ?'"" It was a salutation or address of respect in those 
times. It is familiar now : good my lord, good sir, 
good master, do this, or do that. But what was Christ's 
answer! how did he take it ? " Why callest thou me 
good ?" says Christ, '' there is none good save one, 
that is God." He rejected it, that had more right to 
keep it than all mankind : and why f because there was 
jio one greater than he : and that he saw the man ad- 
dressed it to his manhood, after the way of the times, 
and not his divinity which dwelt within it ; therefore 
Christ refuses it, shewing and instructing us that we 
should not give such epithets and titles commonly to 
men ; for good being due alone to God and godliness, it 
can only be said in flattery to fallen man, and therefore 
sinful to be so said. 

This plain and exact life well became him that was 
on purpose manifested to return and restore man from 
his lamentable degeneracy, to the innocency and purity 
of his first creation, who has taught us to be careful, 
how we use and give attributes unto man, by that most 
severe saying, ** That every idle word that men shall 
speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day !of 
judgment,"'"' And that which should warn all men of 
the latitude they take therein, and sufficiently justify our 
tenderness, is this, that man can scarcely commit great- 
er injury and oftence against Almighty God, than to 
ascribe any of his attributes unto man, the creature of 
his word, and the work of his hands. He is a jealous 
God of his honour, and will not give his glory unto ano- 
ther. Besides, it is so near the sin of the aspiring, fall- 
en angels, that affected to be greater and better than 
they were made and stated by the great Lord of all : and 
to entitle man to a station above his make and orb looks 
so like idolatry, (the unpardonable sin under the law) 
that it is hard to think, how men and women professing 
Christianity, and seriously reflecting upon their vanity 
and evil in these things, can continue in them, much less 
plead for them, and least of all reproach and deride those 

« Luke xvii. 13, 19. w Matt. xii. 35. 



Part L NO CROSS, NO CKOWN. S13 

that through tenderness of conscience cannot use and 
give them. It seems that EUhu did not dare to do it ; 
but put such weight upon the matter, as to give this for 
one reason of his forbearance, to wit, '* Lest my Maker 
should soon take me away :" that is, for fear God 
should strike me dead, I dare not give man titles, that 
are above him, or titles merely to please him. I may 
not, by any means, gratify that spirit which lusteth after 
such things. God is to be exalted, and man abased. 
God is jealous of man's being set higher than his station: 
he will have him keep his place, know his original, and 
remember the rock from whence he came : and what he 
has is borrowed, not his own, but his Maker's, who 
brought him forth and sustained him ; which man is 
very apt to forget. And lest I should be accessary to it 
by tlattering titles, instead of telling him truly and plain- 
ly what he is, and using him as he ought to be treated, 
and thereby provoke my Maker to displeasure, and he 
in his anger and jealousy should take me soon away, or 
bring sudden death, and an untimely end upon me, I 
dare not use, I dare not give such titles unto men. 

Sect. 32. But if we had not this to allege from the 
old-testament-writings, it should and ought to suffice 
with Christians, that these customs are severely cen- 
sured by the great Lord and Master of all their religion ; 
who is so far from putting people upon giving honour 
one to another, that he will not indulge them in it, 
whatever be the customs of the country they live in : 
for he charges it upon the Jews, as a mark of their apos- 
tacy : " How can ye believe, which receive honour one 
of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from 
God only ?" where their infidelity concerning Christ 
is made the effect of seeking worldly, and not heavenly 
honour only. And the thing is not hard to apprehend, 
if we consider, that self-love, and desire of honour from 
men, is inconsistent with the love and humility of Christ. 
They sought the good opinion and respect of the world : 
how then was it possible they should leave all and fol- 
low him, whose kingdom is not of this world ; and that 



114 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

came in a way so cross to the mind and humour of it ? and 
that this was the meaning of our Lord Jesus, is plain : for 
he tells us what that honour was, they gave and received, 
which he condemns them for, and of which he bid the 
disciples of his humility and cross beware. His words 
are these (and he speaks them not of the rabble, but of 
the doctors, the great men, the men of honour among 
the Jews) " They love (says he) the uppermost rooms 
at feasts ;'"" that is, places of greatest rank and respect ; 
'' and greetings," that is, salutations of respect, such as 
pulling off the hat, and bowing the body, are in our age ; 
*« in the market-places,"'^ viz. in the places of note and 
concourse, the public walks and exchanges of the coun- 
try. And lastly, *' They love (says Christ) to be cal- 
led of men. Rabbi, Rabbi :" one of the most eminent 
titles among the Jews. A word comprehending an ex- 
cellency equal to many titles : it may stand for your 
grace, your lordship, right reverend father, &c. It is up- 
on these men of breeding and quality, that he pronoun- 
ces his woes, making these practices some of the evil 
marks, by which to know them, as well as some of the 
motives of his threatenings against them. But he leaves 
it not here, he pursues this very point of honour, 
above all the rest, in his caution to his disciples ; to 
whom he gave in charge thus : " But be not ye called 
Rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye 
are brethren. Neither be ye called masters : but he 
that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and 
whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased." Plain 
it is, that these passages carry a severe rebuke, both to 
worldly honour in general, and to those members and 
expressions of it in particular, which, as near as the lan- 
guage of scripture and customs of that age will permit, 
do distinctly reach and allude to those of our own 
time ; for the declining of which we have suffered so 
much scorn and abuse, both in our persons and estates ; 
God forgive the unreasonable authors of it ! 

X Matt, xxiii. 6. y Mark xu. 38. Luke xi. 43. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 115 

Sect. 33. The apostle Paul has a saying of great 
weight and fervency^ in his epistle to the Romans, very 
agreeable to this doctrine of Christ ; it is this : *' I be- 
seech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac- 
ceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service ; 
and be not conformed to this world, but be ye trans- 
formed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may 
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect 
will of God."* He wrote to a people in the midst of the 
ensnaring pomp and glory of the world ; Rome was 
the seat of Cassar, and the empire : the mistress of in- 
vention. Her fashions, as those of France now, were 
as laws to the world, at least at Rome : whence it is pro- 
verbial ; 

Cumfueris Roma^ Romano vii)iio moire • 

When thou art at Rome, thou must do as Rome does. 

But the apostle is of another mind : he warns the Chris» 
tians of that city, '* that they be not conformed ; that is, 
that they do not follow the vain fashions and customs of 
this world, but leave them : the emphasis lies upon 
This, as well as upon Conformed : audit imports, that 
this world, which they were not to conform to, was the 
corrupt and degenerate condition of mankind in that 
age. Wherefore the apostle proceeds to exhort those 
believers, and that by the mercies of God, the most 
powerful and winning of all arguments, '* that they 
would be transformed ;" that is, changed from the way 
of life customary among the Romans; " and provd 
what is that acceptable will of God." As if he had said, 
examine what you do and practise ; see if it be right, 
and that it please God : call every thought, word, and 
action to judgment ; try whether they are wrought in 
God or not ; that so you may prove or know what is 
that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. ^ 

« Rotn. xU. 1, 2. a John iU,ei, 22 



116 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Sect. 34. The next scripture-authority we appeal 
to, in our vindication, is a passage of the apostle Peter, 
in his first epistle, written to the believing strangers 
throughout the countries of Pontus, Galatia, Cappado- 
cia, Asia, and Bithynia ; which were the churches of 
Ghrist Jesus in those parts of the world, gathered up 
by his power and spirit ; it is this, '' Gird up the loins 
of your mind ; be sober, and hope to the end, for the 
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation 
of Jesus Christ ; as obedient children, not fashioning 
yourselves according to the former lusts of your ig- 
norance."'' That is, be not found in the vain fashions 
and customs of the world, unto which you conformed 
in your former ignorance : but as ye have believed in a 
more plain and excellent way, so be sober and fervent, 
and hope to the end : do not give out ; let them mock 
on : bear ye the contradiction of sinners constantly, 
as obedient children, that you may receive the kindness 
of God, at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And there- 
fore does the apostle call them " strangers (a figurative 
speech) people estranged from the customs of the world, 
of new faith and manners ; and so unknown of the 
world :" and if such strangers, then not to be fashioned 
or conformed to their pleasing respects and honours, 
whom they were estranged from ; because the strange- 
ness lay in leaving that which was customary and fami- 
liar to them before. The following words, ver. 17. 
proved he used the word strangers in a spiritual sense ; 
*' Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear ;" that 
is, pass the time of your being here as strangers on 
earth in fear ; not after the fashions of the world. A 
word in the next chapter further explains this sense, 
where he tells the believers, that they are a peculiar peo- 
ple;" to wit, a distinct, a singular and separate people 
from the rest of the world : not any longer to fashion 
themselves according to their customs : but I do not 
know how that could be, if they were to live in commu- 
nion with the world, in its respects and honours ; for 

b 1 Pet. i. 13, 14. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ur 

that is not to be a peculiar or separate people from them, 
but to be like them, because conformable to them. 

Sect. 35, I shall conclude my scripture-testimonies 
against the foregoing respects, with that memorable and 
close passage of the apostle James, against respect to per- 
sons in general, after the world's fashion : " My breth- 
ren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
Lord of glory, with respect of persons ; for if there 
come unto your assembly, a man with a gold ring, in 
goodly apparel ; and there come in also a poor man, in 
vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth 
the gay clothing, and say unto him, sit thou here in a 
goodly place, or well and seemly, as the word is, and 
say to the poor, stand thou there, or sit here under my 
footstool; are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are 
become judges of evil thoughts*^ [that is, they knew they 
did amiss] ? If yc fulfil the royal law, according to the 
scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye 
do well ; but if ye have respect to persons, ye com,- 
niit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."** 
This is so full, there seems nothing left for me to add, or 
others to object. We are not to respect persons, that 
is the first thing : and the next is, if we do, we commit 
sin, and break the law : at our own peril be it. And yet, 
perhaps, some will say, that by this w^e overthrow all 
manner of distinction among men, under their divers 
qualities, and introduce a reciprocal and relational re- 
spect in the room of it : but if it be so, I cannot help it, 
the apostle James must answer for it, who has given us 
this doctrine for Christian and Apostolical. And yet 
one greater than he told his disciples, of whom James 
was one, viz. *' Ye know that the princes of the Gen- 
tiles exercise dominion over them, &c. But it shall 
not be so among you ; but whosoever will be great 
among you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever 
will be chief among you, let him be your servant:"* 
that is, he that aflfects rule, and seeks to be uppermost, 

" James ii. 1, 2, 3, 4. * James ii. 8. ^ Matt. xx. 25, 26, 2^ 



118 NO CROS^, NO CROWN. Pakt I. 

shall be esteemed least among you. And to say true, 
upon the whole matter, whether we regard those early 
times of the world, that were antecedent to the coming 
of Christ, or soon after, there was yet a greater simpli- 
city, than in the times in which we are fallen. For 
those early times of the world, as bad as they were in 
other things, were great strangers to the frequency of 
these follies; nay, they hardly used some of them, at least 
very rarely. For if we read the scriptures, such a thing 
as my lord Adam, though lord of the world, is not to 
be found ; nor my lord Noah neither, the second lord of 
the earth ; nor yet my lord Abraham, the father of the 
faithful ; nor my lord Isaac ; nor my lord Jacob ; but 
much less my lord Peter, and my lord Paul, to be found 
in the bible : and less your holiness, or your grace. 
Nay, among the Gentiles, the people wore their own 
names with more simplicity, and used not the ceremo- 
niousness of speech that is now practised among Christ- 
ians, nor yet any thing like it. My lord Solon, my lord 
Phocion, my lord Plato, my lord Aristotle, my lord 
Scipio, my lord Fabius, my lord Cato, my lord Cicero, 
are not to be read in any of the Greek or Latin stories, 
and yet they were some of the sages and heroes of those 
great empires. No, their own names were enough to 
distinguish them from other men, and their virtue and 
employment in the public were their titles of honour. 
Nor has this vanity yet crept far into the Latin writers, 
where it is familiar for authors to cite the most learned, 
and the most noble, without any addition to their names, 
unless worthy or learned : and if their works give it 
them, we make conscience to deny it them. For in- 
stance : the fathers they only cite thus ; Polycarpus, Ig- 
natius, Irenqeus, Cyprian, TertuUian, Origen, Arnobius, 
Lactantius, Chrysostom, Jerom, &c. More modern 
writers ; Damascen, Rabanus, Paschasius, Theophy- 
lact, Bernard, &c. And of the last age ; Luther, Me- 
lancthon, Calvin, Beza, Zuinglius, Marlorat, Vossius, 
Grotius, Dalieus, Amaraldus, &c. And of our own 
country ; Gildas, Beda, Alcuinus, Horn, Bracton, 
Qrosteed, Littleton, Cranmer, Ridley, Jewel, Whitaker. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 119 

Selden, &c. And yet, I presume, this will not he 
thought uncivil or rude. Why then is our simplicity, 
(and so honestly grounded too, as conscience against 
pride in man, that so eagerly and perniciously loves and 
seeks worship and greatness) so much despised and 
abused, and that by professed Christians too, who take 
themselves to be the followers of him, that has forbid 
these foolish customs, as plainly as any other impiety 
condemned in his doctrine ? I earnestly beg the lovers, 
users, and expecters of these ceremonies, to let this I 
have written have some consideration and weight with 
them. 

Sect. 36. How^ever, Christians are not so ill bred as 
the world thinks : for they shew respect too : but the 
difference between them lies in the nature of the respect 
they perform, and the reasons of it. The world's re- 
spect is an empty ceremony, no soul or substance in it : 
the Christian's is a solid thing, whether by obedience to 
superiors, love to equals, or help and countenance to in- 
feriors. Next, their reasons and motives to honour and 
respect, are as wide one from the other : for fine appa- 
rel, empty titles, or large revenues, are the world's mo- 
tives, being things her children worship : but the Christ- 
ian's motive is the sense of his duty in God's sight ; 
first, to parents and magistrates ; and then to inferior re- 
lations ; and lasdy, to all people, according to their vir- 
tue, wisdom, and piety ; which is far from respect to the 
mere persons of men, or having their persons in admira- 
tion for reward ; much less on such mean and base mo- 
tives as wealth and sumptuous raiment. 

Sect. 37. We shall easily grant, our honour, as our 
religion, is more hidden ; and that neither is so discern- 
able by worldly men, nor grateful to them. Our plain- 
ness is odd, uncouth, and goes mightily against the 
grain ; but so does Christianity too, and that for the 
same reasons. But had not the heathen spirit prevailed 
too long under a Christian profession, it would not be so 
hard to discern the right from the wrong. O that 



120 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Christians would look upon themselves, with the glass 
of righteousness, that which tells true, and gives them an 
exact knowledge of themselves ! and then let them ex- 
amine, what in them, and about them, agrees with 
Christ's doctrine and life ; and they may soon resolve, 
whether they are real Christians, or but Heathens christ- 
ened with the name of Christians. 



Some testimonies from ancient and modern writers in 
favour of our behaviour. 

Sect. 38. Marlorat out of Luther and Calvin, upon 
that remarkable passage I just now urged from the apos- 
tle James, gives us the sense those primitive reformers 
had of respect to persons, in these words, viz. " To re- 
spect persons (here) is to have regard to the habit and 
garb : the apostle signifies that such respecting persons 
are so contrary to true faith, that they are altogether in- 
consistent ; but if the pomp, and other worldly regards, 
prevail, and weaken what is of Christ, it is a sign of a 
decaying faith ; yea, so great is the glory and splendour 
of Christ in a pious soul, that all the glories of the world 
have no charms, no beauty, in comparison of that, unto 
one so righteously inclined : the apostle maketh such 
respecting of persons, to be repugnant to the light, with- 
in them, insomuch, as they, who follow those practices, 
are condemned from within themselves. So that sanc- 
tity ought to be the reason, or motive, of all outward re- 
spects ; and that none is to be honoured, upon any ac- 
count but holiness :" thus much Marlorat. But if 
this be true doctrine, we are much in the right in re- 
fusing conformity to the vain respects of worldly men. 

Sect. .39. But I shall add to these the admonition of 
a learned ancient writer, who lived about 1200 years 
since of great esteem, namely, Jerom, who writing to a 
noble matron, Celantia, directing her how to live in the 
midst ofher prosperity and honours, amongst many other 
religious instructions, speaks thus : '' Heed not thy no- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 121 

bility, nor let that be a reason for thee to take place of 
any ; esteem not those of a meaner extraction to be thy 
inferiors ; for our religion admits of no respect of per- 
sons, nor doth it induce us to repute men from any ex- 
ternal condition, but from their inward frame and dis- 
position of mind : it is hereby that we pronounce men 
noble or base. With God, not to serve sin, is to be 
free ; and to excel in virtue is to be noble : God has 
chosen the mean and contemptible of this world, where- 
by to humble the great ones. Besides, it is a folly for 
any to boast his gentility, since all are equally esteemed 
by God. The ransom of the poor and rich cost Christ 
an equal expense of blood. Nor is it material in what 
state a man is born ; the new creature hath no distinc- 
tion. But if we will forget, how we all descended from 
one Father, we ought at least perpetually to remember, 
that we have but one Saviour." 

Sect. 40. But since I am engaged against these fond 
and fruitless customs, (the proper effects and delights of 
vain and proud minds) let me yet add one memorable 
passage more, as it is related by the famous Causabon, 
in his Discourse of Uuse and Custom ; where he briefly 
reports what passed between Sulpitius Severus, and 
Paulinus, bishop of Nola, (but such an one as gave all 
to redeem captives, whilst others of that function, that 
they may show who is their master, are making many 
both beggars and captives, by countenancing the plun- 
der and imprisonment of Christians, for pure conscience 
to God) he brings it in thus : *' He is not counted a ci- 
vil man now, of late years amongst us, who thinks it 
much, or refuseth, to subscribe himself servant, though 
it be to his equal or inferior. Yet Sulpitius Severus 
was once sharply chid by Paulinus, for sulDscribing him- 
self his servant, in a letter of his ; saying. Take heed 
hereafter, how Thou, being from a servant called into 
liberty, dost subscribe thyself servant unto one who is thy 
brother and fellow- servant ; for it is a sinful flattery, not 
a testimony of humility, to pay those honours to a man, 
and a sinner, which are due to the one Lord, and one 



122 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

master, and one God." This bishop was, (as it seems) of 
Christ's mind, '* Why callest thou me good ? there is 
none good but one." By this we may see the sense of 
some of the more apostolical bishops about the civilities 
and fashions, so much reputed with people that call 
themselves Christians and Bishops, and who would be 
thought their successors. It was then a sin, it is now an 
accomplishment ; it was then a flattery, it is now res- 
pect ; it is was then fit to be severely reproved ; and 
now, alas ! it is to deserve severe reproof not to use it. 
O monstrous vanity ! how much, how deeply, have 
those who are called Christians revolted from the plain- 
ness of the primitive days, and practice of holy men and 
women in former ages ! How are they become degene- 
rated into the loose, proud, and wanton customs of the 
world, which knows not God ; to whom use hath made 
these things, condemned by scripture, reason and exam- 
ple, almost natural ! And so insensible are they of both 
their cause and bad effects, that they not only continue 
to practise them, but plead for them, and unchristianly, 
make a very mock of those who cannot imitate them. 
But I shall proceed to what remains yet farther to be said 
in our defence for declining another custom, which 
helps to make us so much the stumbling-block of this 
light, vain, and inconsiderate age. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 123 



CHAP. X. 

Sect. 1. Another piece of non-conformity to the world, which 
is our simple and plain speech, Thou for You. 2. Justified 
from the use of words and numbers, singular and plural. 
5. It was, and is, the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin speech, 
in schools and universities. 4. It is the language of all nations. 
5. The original of the present custom defends our disuse of 
it. 6. If custom should prevail, in a sense it would be on our 
side. 7. It cannot be uncivil, or improper ; for God himself^ 
the fathers, prophets, Christ and his apostles used it. 8. An 
instance given in the case of Peter, in the palace of the high 
priest. 9. It is the practice of men to God in their prayers : 

^ the pride of man to expect better to himself. 10. Testimo- 
nies of several writers in vindication of us. 11. The au- 
thor's convictions, and his exhortation to his reader. 

Sect. I. 1 HERE is another piece of our non- 
conformity to the world, that renders us very clownish 
to the breeding of it, and that is, Thou for You, and 
that without difference or respect to persons : a thing 
that to Sonne looks so rude, it cannot well go down with- 
out derision or wrath. But as we have the same origi- 
nal reason for declining this, as the foregoing customs j 
so I shall add what to me looks reasonable in our de- 
fence ; though, it is very probable, height of mind, in 
some of those that blame us, will very hardly allow them 
to believe that the word reasonable is reconcileable with 
so silly a practice as this is esteemed. 

Sect. 2. Words, of themselves, are but as so many 
marks set and employed for necessary and intelligible 

R 



124 * NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I . 

mediums, or means, whereby men may understandingly 
express their minds and conceptions to each other ; from 
whence comes conversation. Now, though the world 
be divided into many nations, each of which, for the 
most part, has a peculiar language, speech, or dialect, 
yet have they ever concurred in the same numbers and 
persons, as much of the ground of right speech. For in- 
stance ; I love, Thou lovest, He loveth, are of the sin- 
gular number, importing but One, whether in the first, 
second, or third person : also, We love. Ye love, They 
love, are of the plural number, because in each is impli- 
ed More than One. Which undeniable grammatical 
rule might be enough to satisfy any, that have not forgot 
their Accidence, that we are not beside Reason in our 
practice. For if Thou lovest, be singular, and You 
love, be plural, and if Thou lovest, signifies but One; 
and You love. Many ; is it not as proper to say, Thou 
lovest, to Ten men, as to say. You love, to One man ? 
Or, why not I love, for We love, and We love, instead 
of 1 love ? Doubtless it is the same, though most im- 
proper, and in speech ridiculous. 

Sect. 3. Our next reason is ; if it be improper or un- 
civil speech, as termed by this vain age, how comes it, 
that the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman authors, used in 
schools and universities, have no other ? Why should 
they not be a rule in that, as well as other things ? And 
why, I pray then, are we so ridiculous for being thus far 
grammatical ? Is it reasonable that children should be 
whipt at school for putting You for Thou, as having 
made false Latin ; and yet that we must be, though not 
whipt, reproached, and often abused, when we use the 
contrary propriety of speech ? 

Sect. 4. But in the third place, it is neither improper 
nor uncivil, but much otherwise ; because it is used in 
all languages, speeches, and dialects, and that through 
all ages. This is very plain : as for example, it was 
God's language when he first spake to Adam, viz. He- 
brew : also it is the Assyrian, Chaldean, Grecian, and 



Part 1. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 125 

Latin speech. And now amongst the Turks, Tartars, 
Muscovites, Indians, Persians, Italians, Spaniards, 
French, Dutch, Germans, Polonians, Swedes, Danes, 
Irish, Scottish, Welch, as well as English, there is a dis- 
tinction preserved ; and the word T^iou, is not lost in 
the word which goes for You. And though some of the 
modern tongues have done as we do, yet upon the 
same error. But by this it is plain, that Thou is no 
upstart, nor yet improper ; but the only proper word to 
be used in all languages to a single person ; because 
otherwise all sentences, speeches, and discourses may 
be very ambiguous, uncertain, and equivocal. If a ju- 
ry pronounce a verdict, or a judge a sentence, ( Three be- 
ing at the bar upon three occasions, very differently 
culpable) and should say, You are here guilty, and to 
die, or innocent, and discharged ; who knows who is 
guilty or innocent ? May be but One, perhaps Two ; 
or it may be all Three. Therefore our indictments run 
in the singular number, as Hold up Thy hand : Thou 
art indicted by the name of, 8cc. for that Thou, *' not 
having the fear of God, &c." and it holds the same in 
all conversation. Nor can this be avoided, but by ma- 
ny unnecessary circumlocutions. And as the preventing 
of such length and obscurity was doubtless the first rea- 
son for the distinction, so cannot that be justly disused, 
till the reason be first removed ; which can never be, 
whilst Two are in the world. 

Sect. 5. But this is not all : it was first ascribed in way 
of flattery to proud popes and emperors ; imitating the 
Heathens vain homage to their gods ; thereby ascribing 
a plural honour to a single person ; as if One Pope had 
been made up of Many Gods, and One Emperor of 
many Men. For which reason. You, only to be used to 
Many, became first spoken to One. It seems the word 
Thou looked like too lean and thin a respect ; and 
therefore some, bigger than they should be, would have 
a stile suitable to their own ambition : a ground we 
cannot build our practice on ; for what begun it, only 
loves it still. But supposing You to be proper to a 



126 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

prince, it will not follow it is to a common person. 
For his edict runs, " We will and require," because 
perhaps in conjunction with his council ; and therefore 
You to a private person, is an abuse of the word. But 
as pride first gave it birth, so hath she only promoted it. 
* Monsieur, sir, and madam, were, originally, names 
given to none but the king, his brother, and their wives, 
both in France and England ; yet now the plowman in 
France is called Monsieur, and his wife madam ; and 
men of ordinary trades in England, sir. and their wives, 
dame ; (which is the legal title of a lady) or else mis- 
tress, which is the same with madam in French. So 
prevalent hath pride and flattery been in all ages, the 
pne to give, and the other to receive respect, as they 
term it. 

Sect. 6. But some will tell us, custom should rule 
us; and that is against us. But it is easily answered, 
and more truly, that though in things reasonable or in- 
different, custom is obliging or harmless, yet in things 
unreasonable or unlawful, she has no authority. For cus- 
tom can no more change numbers than genders, nor 
yoke One and You together, than make a man into a 
woman, or one a thousand. But if custom be to conclude 
us, it is for us : for as custom is nothing else but ancient 
usage, I appeal to the practice of mankind, from the 
beginning of the world, through all nations, against the 
novelty of this confusion, viz. You to one person. 
Let custom, which is ancient practice and fact, issue this 
question. Mistake me not : I know words are nothing, 
but as men give them a value or force by use ; but then, 
if you will discharge Thou, and that You must succeed 
in its place, let us have a distinguishing word in the 
room of You, tp be used in speech to Many. But to 
use the same word for One and Many, when there are 
two, and that only to please a proud and haughty hu- 
mour in man, is not reasonable in our sense ; which, 
we hope, is Christian, though not modish,, 

* Howel's History of Fran^^e. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 127 

Sect. 7. But if Thou to a single person be improper or 
uncivil, God himself, all the holy fathers and prophets, 
Christ Jesus and his apostles, the primitive saints, all 
languages throughout ihe world, and our own law- 
proceedings are guilty ; which, with submission, were 
great presumption to imagine. Besides, we all know^ 
it is familiar with the most of authors, to preface their 
discourses to the reader in the same language of Thee 
and Thou : as. Reader, Thou art desired, &:c. or, 
Reader, this is written to inform Thee, of the occasion, 
&c. And it cannot be denied, that the most famous 
poems, dedicated to love or majesty, are written in this 
stile. Read of each in Chaucer, Spencer, Waller, Cow- 
ley, Dry den, &c. why then should it be so homely, ill- 
bred, and insufferable in us ? This, I conceive, can 
never be answered. 

Sect. 8. I doubt not at all, but that something alto- 
gether as singular attended the speech of Christ and his 
disciples : for I remember it was urged upon Peter in 
the high priest's palace, as a proof of his belonging to 
Jesus, when he denied his Lord : " Surely (said they) 
Thou also art one of them ; for thy speech bewrayeth 
Thee :"*^ they had guessed by his looks, but just before, 
that he had been with Jesus ; but when they discoursed 
him, his language put them all out of doubt : surely 
then he was one of them, and he had been with Jesus. 
Something it was he had learned in his company, that 
was odd and observeable ; to be sure, not of the world's 
behaviour. Without question, the garb, gait, and 
speech of his followers differed, as well as his doctrine, 
from the world ; for it was a part of his doctrine it should 
be so. It is easy to believe/ they were more plain, 
grave, and precise ; which-is more credible, from the 
way which poor, confident, fearful Peter took, to dis- 
guise the business ; for he fell to cursing and swearing. 
A sad shift ! but he thought that the likeliest way to re- 
move the suspicion, that was most unlike Christ. And 

^Matt. sxvi. 71,73,74, 



128 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

the policy took ; for it silenced their objections ; and 
Peter was as orthodox as they. But though they found 
him not out, the cock's crow did ; which made Peter 
remember his dear suffering Lord's word, and " he went 
forth and wept bitterly :" that he had denied his Mas- 
ter, who was then delivered up to die for him. 

Sect. 9. But our last reason is of most weight with 
me ; and, because argumentum ad hominem, it is most 
heavy upon our despisers ; which is this : It should not 
therefore be urged upon us, because it is a most extra- 
vagant piece of pride in a mortal man, to require or ex- 
pect from his fellow-creature a more civil speech, or 
grateful language, than he is wont to give the immortal 
God, and his Creator, in all his worship to him. Art 
thou, O man, greater than he that made thee ? Canst 
thou approach the God of thy breath, and great judge of 
thy life, with Thou and Thee, and when thou risest off 
thy knees, scorn a Christian for giving to thee, (poor 
mushroom of the earth) no better language than thou 
hast given to God but just before ? An arrogancy not to 
be easily equalled! But again, it is either too much or 
too little respect; if too much, do not reproach and be 
angry, but gravely and humbly refuse it : if too little, 
why dost thou show to God no more ? O whither is man 
gone ! to what a pitch does he soar ? he would be used 
more civilly by us, than he uses God ; which is to have 
us make more than a God of him ; but he shall want 
worshippers of us, as well as he wants the divinity in 
himself that deserves to be worshipped. Certain we 
are, that the Spirit of God seeks not these respects, 
much less pleads for them, or would be wroth with any 
that conscientiously refuse to give them. But that this 
vain generation is guilty of using them, to gratify a vain 
mind, is too palpable. What capping, what cringing, 
what scraping, what vain unmeant words, most hyper- 
bolical expressions, compliments, gross flatteries, and 
plain lies, under the name of civilities, are men and wo- 
men guilty of in conversation! Ah, my friends! whence 
fetch you these examples ? What part of all the writings 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 129 

of the holy men of God warrants these things ? But to 
come near to your own professions : Is Christ your 
example herein, whose name you pretend to bear ? or 
those saints of old, that lived in desolate places, of 
whom the world was not worthy ?^ Or do you think you 
follow the practice of those Christians, that, in obe- 
dience to their Master's life and doctrine, forsook the 
respect of persons, and relinquished the fashions, ho- 
nour and glory of this transitory world : whose qua- 
lifications lay not in external gestures, respects, and 
compliments, but in a meek and quiet spirit,^ adorned 
with temperance, virtue, modest)^ gravity, patience, 
and brotherly-kindness, which were the tokens of true 
honour, and only badges of respect and nobility in those 
Christian times ? O no ! But is it not to expose our- 
selves both to your contempt and fury, that we imitate 
them, and not you ? And tell us, pray, are not roman- 
ces, plays, masks, gaming, fiddlers, &c. the entertain- 
ments that most delight you ? Had you the spirit of 
Christianity indeed, could you consume your most pre- 
cious little time in so many unnecessary visits, games, 
and pastimes ; in your vain compliments, courtships, 
feigned stories, flatteries, and fruitless novelties, and 
whatnot ? invented and used to your diversion, to make 
you easy in your forgetfulness of God ; which never 
was the christian way of living, but entertainment of the 
heathens that knew not God. Oh, were you truly touch- 
ed with a sense of your sins, and in any measure bora 
again ; did you take up the cross of Jesus, and live 
under it, these things, which so much please your 
w^anton and sensual nature, would find no place with you! 
This is not seeking the things that are above, to have 
the heart thus set on things that are below ; nor, 
" working out your own salvation with fear and tremb- 
ling," to spend your days in vanity. This is not crying 
with Elihu, **I know not to give flattering titles to men ; 
for in so doing my Maker would soon take me away :" 
this is not to deny self, and lay up a more hidden and 

S Heb. xi. i» 1 Pet. Hi, 3, 4. Col. iil. 1. 



130 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

enduring substance, an eternal inheritance in the hea- 
vens, that will not pass away. Well, my friends, what- 
ever you think, your plea of custom will find no place at 
God's tribunal : the light of Christ in your own hearts 
will over-rule it, and this Spirit against which we testify, 
shall then appear to be what we say it is. Say not, I am 
serious about slight things : but beware you of levity 
and rashness in serious things. 

Sect. 10. Before I close, I shall add a few testimo- 
nies from men of general credit, in favour of our non- 
conformity to the world in this particular. 

Luther, the great reformer, (whose sayings were ora- 
cles with the age he lived in, and of no less reputation 
now, with many that object against us) vvas so f r from 
condemning our plain speech, that, in his Ludus, he 
sports himself with You to a single person, as an incon- 
gruous and ridiculous speech, viz. Magister, vos estis 
iratus ! Master, are you angry ? as absurd with him in 
Latin, as, My Masters, art thou angry ? is in English. 
Erasmus, a learned man, and an exact critic in speech, 
than whom, I know not any we may so properly refer 
the grammar of the matter to, not only derides it, but 
bestows a whole discourse upon rendering it absurd : 
plainly manifesting, that it is impossible to preserve 
numbers, if You, the only word for more than One, be 
used to express One: as also, that the original of this 
corruption, was the corruption of flattery. Lipsius af- 
firms of the ancient Romans, that the manner of greeting 
now in vogue, was not in use amongst them. To con- 
clude ; Howel, in his History of France, gives us an 
ingenious account of its original ; where he not only 
assures us, that anciently the peasants Thou'd their 
kings, but that pride and flattery first put inferiors upon 
paying, a plural respect to the single person of every 
superior, and superiors upon receiving it. And though 
we had not the practice of God and man so undeniabl}'' 
to justify our plain and homely speech, yet, since we are 
persuaded that its original was from pride and flattery, 
we cannot in conscience use it. And however we may 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 131 

be censured as singular, by those loose and airy minds, 
that, through the continual love of earthly pleasures, con- 
sider not the true rise and tendency of words and things j 
yet, to us, whom God has convinced, by his Light and 
Spirit in ©ur hearts, of the folly and evil of such cour- 
ses, and brought into a spiritual discerning of the nature 
and ground of the world's fashions, they appear to be 
fruits of pride and flattery, and we dare not continue in 
such vain compliances to earthly minds, least we offend 
God, and burden our own consciences. But having 
been sincerely affected with the reproofs of instruction, 
and our hearts being brought into a watchful subjection 
to the righteous law of Jesus, so as to bring our deeds 
to the light,^ to see in whom they are wrought, if in God, 
or not ; we cannot, we dare not conform ourselves to 
the fashions of the world that pass away, knowing assur- 
edly, that *' for every idle word that men speak, they 
shall give an account in the day of judgment."* 

Sect. 11. Wherefore, reader, whether thou art a night- 
walking Nicodemus, or a scoffing scribe ; one that would 
visit the blessed Messiah, but in the dark customs of the 
world, that thou mightest pass as undiscerned, for feat 
of bearing his reproachful cross ; or else a favourer of 
Haman's pride, and countest these testimonies but a 
fooHsh singularity ; I must say, divine love enjoins me 
to be a messenger of truth to thee, and a faithful witness 
against the evil of this degenerate world, as in other, so 
in these things ; in which the spirit of vanity and lust 
hath got so great an head, and lived so long uncon- 
trolled, that it hath impudence enough to term its dark- 
ness light, and to call its evil off*-spring by the names due 
to a better nature, the more easily to deceive people in- 
to the practice of them. And truly, so very blind and 
insensible are most, of what spirit they are and ignorant 
of the meek and self-denying life of holy Jesus, whose 
name they profess, that to call each other Rabbi, that is, 
Master ; to bow to men, which I call worship, and to 

'X John iii, 19^ 2Q. i Matt. xi:. 36. 

s 



f 



1J2 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

greet with flattering titles ; and do their fellow-creatures 
homage : to scorn that language to themselves that they 
give to God, and to spend their time and estate to gratify 
their wanton minds ; the customs of the Gentiles^ that 
knew not God, pass with them for civility, good breed- 
ing, decency, recreation, accomplishments, &c. O that 
man would consider, since there are but two spirits, 
one crood, the other evil, which of them it is that inclines 
the world to these thmgs ! and whether it be Nicodemus 
or Mordecai in thee, that doth befriend these despised 
Christians, which makes thee ashamed to disown that 
openly in conversation with the world, which the true 
light hath made vanity and sin to thee in secret ? Or, 
if thou art a despiser, tell me, I pray thee, which dost 
thou think thy mockery, anger, or contempt do most 
resemble, proud Haman, or good Mordecai ? My friend, 
know, that no man hath more delighted in, or been pro- 
digal of those vanities called civilities, than myself; and 
could I have covered my conscience under the fashions 
i?f the w^orld, truly I had found a shelter from showers 
of reproach that have fallen very often and thick upon 
me ; but had I, with Joseph, conformed to Egypt's cus- 
toms, I had sinned against my God, and lost my peace. 
But I would not have thee think it is a mere Thou or 
Title, simply or nakedly in themselves, w^e boggle at, 
or that we would beget or set up any form inconsistent 
with sincerity or true civility : there is but too much of 
that : but the esteem and value the vain minds of men 
do put upon them, that ought to be crossed and stripped 
of their delights, constrains us to testify so steadily 
against them. And this know, from the sense God's 
Holy Spirit hath begotten in us, that that which requires 
these customs, and begets fear to leave them, and pleads 
for them, and is displeased if not used and paid, is 
the spirit of pride and flattery in the ground, though 
frequency, use, or generosity, may have abated its 
strength in some : and this being discovered by the light 
that now shines from heaven, in the hearts of the des- 
pised Christians I have communion with, necessitates 
them to this testimony, and myself, as one of them, and 



Part L NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 1J3 

for them, in a reproof of the unfaithful, who would walk 
undiscerned, though convinced to the contrary ; and for 
an allay to the proud despisers, who scorn us as a people 
guilty of affectation and singularity. For the eternal 
God, who is great amongst us, and on his way in the 
earth to make his power known, '* will root up every 
plant that his right hand hath not planted.'' Wherefore 
let me beseech thee, reader, to consider the foregoing 
reasons, which were mostly given me from the Lord, in 
that time, when my condescension to these fashions 
would have been purchased at almost any rate ; but the 
certain sense I had of their contrariety to the meek and 
self-denying life of holy Jesus, required of mc my disuse 
of them, and faithful testimony against them. I speak 
the truth in Christ ; I lie not ; I would not have brought 
myself under censure and disdain for them, could I, 
with peace of conscience, have kept my belief under a 
worldly behaviour. It was extreme irksome to me, to 
decline and expose myself; but having an assured and 
repeated sense of the original of these vain customs, that 
they rise from pride, self-love, and flattery, I dared not 
gratify that mind in myself or others. And for this rea- 
son it is, that I am earnest with my readers to be cauti- 
ous how they reprove us on this occsaion ; and do once 
more entreat them, that they would seriously weigh in 
themselves, whether it be the spirit of the world, or of 
the Father, that is so angry W'ith our honest, plain, and 
harmless Thou and Thee : that so every plant that 
God, our heavenly Father, hath not planted in tlie sons 
and daughters of men, maybe rooted up. 



134 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 



CHAP. XL 



Sect. 1. Pride leads people to an excessive value of their per* 
sons. 2. It is plain from the racket that is made about blood 
and families : also in the case of shape and beauty. 3. Blood 
no nobility, but virtue. 4. Virtue no upstart : antiquity, no 
nobility without it, else age and blood would bar virtue in the 
present age. 5. God teaches the true sense of nobility, who 
made of one blood all nations : there is the original of all 
blood. 6. These men of blood, out of their feathers, look 
like other men. 7. This is not said to reject, but humble the 
gentleman : the advantages of that condition above others. 
An exhortation to recover their lost economy in families, out 
of interest and credit. 8. But the author has a higher mo- 
tive ; the gospel, and the excellencies of it, which they pro- 
fess. 9. The pride of persons respecting shape and beauty : 
the washes, patches, paintings, dressings, &c. This excess 
would keep the poor : the mischiefs that attend it. 10. But 
pride in the old, and homely, yet more hateful: that it is 
usual. The madness of it. Counsel to the beautiful to get 
their souls like their bodies ; aiid ^p the homely, to supply 
Vk^ant of that, in the adornment of their lasting part, thei# 
souls, with holiness. Nothing homely with God, but sin. 
The blessedness of those that wear Christ's yoke and cross, 
and are crucified to the world. 

Sect. 1. JjUT pride stops not here; she excites 
people to an excessive value and care of their persons : 
they must have great and punctual attendance, stately 
furniture, rich and exact apparel : all which help to make 
up that pride of life, that John tells us, *' is not of the 
Father, but of the world. "^ A sin God charged uporj 

f 1 John ii. 16, ir. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 135 

the haughty daughters of Zion, Isa. iii. and on the proud 
prince and people of Tyrus, Ezek. xxvii. 28. Read 
these chapters, and measure this age by their sins, and 
what is coming on these nations by their judgments. 
But at the present I shall only touch upon the first, viz. 
the excessive value people have of their persons ; leav- 
ing the rest to be considered under the last head of this 
discourse, which is luxury, where they may be not im- 
properly placed. 

Sect. 2. That people are generally proud of their per- 
sons, is too visible and troublesome ; especially if they 
have any pretence either to blood or beauty ; the one 
has raised many quarrels among men ; and the other 
among women, and men too often, for their sakes, and 
at their excitements. But to the first : what a pother 
has this noble blood made in the world, antiquity of 
name or family ? whose father or mother, great grand- 
father, or great grand- mother, was best descended or al- 
lied ? what stock, or what clan, they came of ? what 
coat of arms they gave ? which had, of right, the prece- 
dence ? But, methinks, nothing of man's folly has less 
shew of reason to palliate it. 

Sect. 3. For first, What matter is it of whom any one 
is descended, that is not of ill-fame ; since it is his own 
virtue that must raise, or vice depress him ? An ances- 
tor's character is no excuse to a man's ill actions, but 
an aggravation of his degeneracy : and since virtue 
comes not by generation, I am neither the better nor the 
worse for my fore-father ; to be sure, not in God's ac- 
count, nor should it be in man's. Nobody would en- 
dure injuries the easier, or reject favours the more, for 
coming by the hand of a man well or ill descended. I con- 
fess it were greater honour to have had no blots, and 
with an hereditary estate to have had a lineal descent or 
worth : but that was never found, no, not in the most 
blessed of families upon earth, I mean Abraham's. To 
be descended of wealth and titles, fills no man's head 
with brains, or heart with truth : those qualities come 



136 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

from an higher cause. It is vanity then, and most con- 
demnable pride, for a man of bulk and character to des- 
pise another of less size in the world, and of meaner al- 
liance, for want of them ; because the latter may have 
the merit, where the former has only the effects of it in 
an ancestor : and though the one be great, by means of 
a fore -father ; the other is so too, but it is by his own : 
then, pray, which is the bravest man of the two ? 

Sect. 4. O, says the person proud of blood, it was ne- 
ver a good world, since we have had so many upstart 
gentlemen! But what should others have said of that 
man's ancestor, when he started first up into the know- 
ledge of the world ? for he, and all men and families, ay, 
and all states and kingdoms too, have had their upstarts, 
that is their beginnings. This is like being the true 
church because old, not because good ; for families to 
be noble by being old, and not by being virtuous. No 
such matter : it must be age in virtue, or else virtue 
before age ; for otherwise a man should be noble by 
means of his predecessor, and yet the predecessor less 
noble than he, because he was the acquirer : which is a 
paradox that will puzzle all their heraldry to explain ! 
Strange that they should be more noble than their an- 
cestor, that got their nobility for them ! But if this be 
absurd, as it is, then the upstart is the noble man ; the 
man that got it by his virtue : and those are only en- 
titled to his honour, that are imitators of his virtue ; 
the rest may bear his name from his blood, but that is 
all. If virtue then give nobiUty, which Heathens 
themselves agree, then families arc no longer truly 
noble, than they are virtuous. And if virtue go not by 
blood, but by the qualifications of the descendants, it 
follows, blood is excluded : else blood would bar 
virtue ; and no man that wanted the one, should be al- 
lowed the benefit of the other : which were to stint and 
bound nobility for want of antiquity, and make virtue 
useless. 

No, let blood and name go together ; but pray let 
nobility and virtue keep company, for they are nearest 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 137 

of kin. It is thus posited by God himself, that best 
knows how to apportion things with an equal and just 
hand. He neither likes, nor dislikes by descent ; nor 
does he regard what people were, but are. He remem- 
bers not the righteousness of any man that leaves his 
righteousness ;^ much less any unrighteous man for the 
righteousness of his ancestor. 

Sect. 5. But if these men of blood please to think 
themselves concerned to believe and reverence God, in 
his holy scriptures, they may learn, that in the begin- 
ning he made of one blood all nations of men, to dwell 
upon all the face of the earth ; and, that we all descend- 
ed of one father and mother. *" A more certain original 
than the best of us can assign. From thence go down 
to Noah, who was the second planter of human race, and 
we are upon some certainty for our fore- fathers. What 
violence has raped, or virtue merited since, and how far 
we that are alive are concerned in either, will be hard 
for us to determine but a very few ages off us. 

Sect. 6. But, methinks, it should suffice to say, our 
own eyes see that men of blood, out of their gears and 
trappings, without their feathers and finery, have no 
more marks of honour by nature stampt upon them, 
than their inferior neighbours. Nay, themselves being 
judges, they will frankly tell us, they feel all those pas- 
sions in their blood, that make them like other men. 
if not farther from the virtue that truly dignifies. The 
lamentable ignorance and debauchery that now rages 
among too many of our greater sort of folks, is too clear 
and casting an evidence in the point : and pray tell me, 
of what blood are they come ? 

Sect. 7. Howbeit, when I have said all this, I intend 
not, by debasing one false quality, to make insolent 
another that is not true. I would not be thought to set 
the churl upon the present gentleman's shoulder ; by 

^Ezek.xvui. = Acts xvii, 26. 



138 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

no means : his rudeness will not mend the matter. But 
what I have written is, to give aim to all where true no- 
bility dwells, that every one may arrive at it by the ways 
of virtue and goodness. But for all this, I must allow 
a great advantage to the gentleman ; and therefore pre- 
fer his station, just as the apostle Paul, who, after he 
had humbled the Jews, that insulted upon the Christi- 
ans with their law and rites, gave them the advantage 
upon all other nations in statutes and judgments. I 
must grant, that the condition of out great men is much 
to be preferred to the ranks of inferior people. For, 
first, they have more power to do good : and, if their 
hearts be equal to their ability, they are blessings to the 
people of any country. Secondly, the eyes of the people 
are usually directed to them , and if they will be kind, 
just, and helpful, they shall have their affections and ser- 
vices. Thirdly, they are not under equal straits with 
the inferior sort, and consequently, they have more 
help, leisure, and occasion, to polish their passions and 
tempers with books and conversation. Fourthly, they 
have more time to observe the actions of other nations ; 
to travel, and view the laws, customs and interests of 
other countries, and bring home whatever is worthy or 
imitable. And so an easier way is open for great men to 
get honour; andsuchaslove true reputation, willembrace 
the best means to it. But because it too often happens, 
that great men do little mind to give God the glory of 
their prosperity, and to live answerable to his mercies ; but 
on the contrary '' live without God in the world," fulfill- 
ing the lusts thereof, his hand is often seen, either in im- 
poverishing or extinguishing them, and raising up men 
of more virtue and humility to their estates and dignity. 
However, I must allow, that among people of this rank, 
there have been some of them of more than ordinary 
virtue, whose examples have given light to their fami- 
lies. x\nd it has been something natural for some of 
their descendants to endeavour to keep up the credit of 
their houses, in proportion to the merit of their found- 
er. And, to say true, if there be any advantage in such 
descent, it is not from blood, but colucation : for blood 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 139 

has no intelligence in it, and is often spurious and un- 
certain ; but education has a mighty influence, and 
strong bias upon the aifections and actions of men. In 
this, the ancient nobles and gentry of this kingdom did 
excel : and it were much to be wished, that our great 
people would set about to recover the ancient econo- 
my of their houses, the strict and virtuous discipline of 
their ancestors, when men were honoured for their 
achievements, and when nothing more exposed a man to 
shame, than his being born to a nobility that he had not 
a virtue to support. 

Sect. 8. O but I have an higher motive ! the glori- 
ous gospel of Jesus Christ, which having taught this nor- 
thern isle, and all ranks professing to believe in it, let me 
prevail upon you to seek the honour that it has brought 
from heaven to all the true disciples of it, who are indeed 
the followers of God's Lamb, that " takes away the sins 
of the world. "^ Receive with meekness his gracious 
word into your hearts, that subdues the world's lusts, 
and leads in the holy way to blessedness. Here are 
charms no carnal eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor 
heart perceived, but they are revealed to such humble 
converts by his Spirit. Remember you are but crea- 
tures, and that you must die, and after all be judged. 

Sect. 9. But personal pride ends not in nobility of 
blood ; it leads folks to a fond value of their persons, 
be they noble or ignoble ; especially if they have any 
pretence to shape or beauty. It is admirable to see, 
how much it is possible for some to be taken with them- 
selves, as if nothing else deserved their regard, or the 
good opinion of others. It would abate their folly, if 
they could find in their hearts to spare but half the time 
to think of God, and their latter end, which they most 
prodigally spend in washing, perfuming, painting, patch- 
ing, attiring and dressing. In these things they are pre- 
cise, and very artificial ; and for cost they spare not, 

>^ John i. C9. 
1\ 



140 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

But that which aggravates the evil is, the pride of one 
might comfortably supply the need often. '' Gross im- 
piety that it is, that a nation's pride should not be spared 
to a nation's poor !" But what is this for at last ? only 
to be admired, to have reverence, draw love, and com- 
mand the eyes and affections of beholders. And so fan- 
tastic are they in it, as hardly to be pleased too. No- 
thing is good, or fine, or fashionable enough for them ; 
the sun itself, the blessing of heaven and comfort of the 
earth, must not shine upon them, lest it tan them ; nor 
the wind blow, for fear it should disorder them. O 
impious nicety ! yet while they value themselves above 
all else, they make themselves the vassals of their own 
pride : worshipping their shape, feature, or complexion, 
whichsoever is their excellency. The end of all which 
is, but too often, to excite unlawful love, which I call 
lust, and draw one another into as miserable as evil cir- 
cumstances. In single persons it is of ill consequence ; 
for if it does not awaken unchaste desires, it lays no foun- 
dation for solid and lasting union : want of which helps 
to make so many unhappy marriages in the world : but 
in married people, the sin is aggravated ; for they have 
none of right to please, but one another ; and to affect 
the gaiety and vanity of youth, is an ill sign of loving and 
living well at home : it looks rather like dressing for a 
market. It has sad effects in families ; discontents, part- 
ings, duels, poisonings, and other infamous murders. 
No age can better tell us the sad effects of this sort of 
pride, than this we live in ; as, how excessive wanton, so 
how fatal it has been to the sobriety, virtue, peace, and 
health of families in this kingdom. 

Sect. 10. But I must needs say, that of all creatures 
this sort of pride does least become the old and homely, 
if I may call the ill-favoured and deformed so ; for the 
old are proud only of what they had ; wliich shews to 
their reproach, their pride has out-lived their beauty, 
and when they should be a repenting, they are making 
work for repentance. But the homely are yet worse, 
they are proud of what they never had, nor ever can 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 141 

have. Nay, their persons seem as if they were given for 
a perpetual humiliation to their minds ; and to be proud 
of them, is loving pride for pride's sake, and to be 
proud without a temptation to be proud. And yet in 
my whole life I have observed nothing more doating on 
itself : a strange infatuation and enchantment of pride ! 
what ! not to see right with their eyes, because of the 
partiality of their minds ? This self-love is blind indeed. 
But to add expense to the vanity, and to be costly upon 
that which cannot be mended, one would think they 
should be downright mad ; especially if they consider 
that they look the homelier for the things that are thought 
handsome, and do but thereby draw their deformity more 
into notice, by that which does so little become them. 

But in such persons follies we have a specimen of man ; 
what a creature he is in his lapse from his primitive 
image. All this (as Jesus said of sin of old) comes 
from within ;^ that is the disregard that man and wo- 
man have to the Word of their Creator in their hearts, 
which shews pride, and teaches humility and self-abase- 
ment, and directs the mind to the true object of honour 
and worship ; and that with an awe and reverence suita- 
ble to his sovereignty and majesty. Poor mortals ! but 
living dirt ; made of what they tread on ; who, with all 
theirpride, cannot secure themselves from the spoil of 
sickness, much less from the stroke of death.® O ! did peo- 
ple consider the inconstancy of all visible things, the 
cross and adverse occurrences of man's life, the cer- 
tainty of his departure, and eternal judgment, it is to be 
hoped, they would bring their deeds to Christ's light in 
their hearts, and they would see if they were wrought in 
God or no, as the beloved disciple tells us from his dear 
Master's mouth.^ Art thou shapely, comely, beautiful ; 
the exact draught of an human creature ? admire that 
power that made thee so. Live an harmonious life to 
the curious make and frame of thy creation ; and let the 
beauty of thy body teach thee to beautify thy mind with 
holiness, the ornament of the beloved of God. Art 
thou homely or deformed ? magnify that goodness which 

*< Matt. XV. 11, 18, 19, 20. ^ Dent. xxx. 14. Roa^. x. 8. 

^John m.20,21. 



142 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

did not make thee a beast ; and with the grace that is 
given unto thee (for it has appeared unto all) learn to 
adorn thy soul with enduring beauty. Remember, the 
king of heaven's daughter, the church (of which true 
Christians are members) is all glorious within : and if 
thy soul excel, thy body will only set off the lustre of 
thy mind. Nothing is homely in God's sight but sin : 
and that man and woman, that commune with their own 
hearts, and sin not ; who in the light of holy Jesus, 
watch over the movings and inclinations of their own 
souls, and that suppress every evil in its conception, 
they love the yoke and cross of Christ, and are daily by 
it crucified to the world, but live to God in that life 
which outlives the fading satisfactions of it. 



CHAP. XII. 

Sect. 1. The character of a proud man : a glutton upon him- 
self. Is proud of his pedigree. 2. He is insolent and 

' quarrelsome, but cowardly, yet cruel. 3. An ill child, sub- 
ject and servant. 4. Unhospitable. 5. No friend to any. 
6. Dangerous and mischievous in power. 7. Of all things 
pride bad in ministers, 8. They claim prerogative above 
all others. 9. And call themselves the clergy ; their lordli- 
ness and avarice. 10. Death swallows all. 1 1. The way 
to escape these evils. 

Sect. 1. 1 O conclude this great head of pride, let 
us brielly see upon the whole matter, what is the cha- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 143 

racter of a proud man in himself, and in divers relations 
and capacities. A proud man then is a kind of glut- 
ton upon himself; for he is never satisfied with loving 
and admiring' himself; whilst nothing else with him is 
worthy either of love or care : if good enough to be the 
servant of his will, it is as much as he can find in his 
heart to allow ; as if he had only been made for him- 
self, or rather that he had made himself. For as he des- 
pises man, because he cannot abide an equal, so he 
does not love God, because he would not have a supe- 
rior : he cannot bear to owe his being to another, lest 
he should thereby acknowledge one above himself. He 
is one that is mighty big with the honour of his ances- 
tors, but not of the virtue that brought them to it ; 
much less will he trouble himself to imitate them. He 
can tell you of his pedigree, his antiquity, what estate, 
what matches ; but forgets that they are gone, and that 
he must die too. 

Sect. 2. But how troublesome a companion is proud 
man ! ever positive and controlling ; and if you yield 
not, insolent and quarrelsome : yet at the upshot of the 
matter, cowardly : but if strongest, cruel. He has no 
bowels of adversity, as if it were below him to be sensi- 
ble : he feels no more of other men's miseries, than if he 
was not a man, or it was a sin to be sensible. For not 
feeling himself interested, he looks no farther : he will 
not disquiet his thoughts with other men's infelicities : 
it shall content him to believe they are just : and he had 
rather churlishly upbraid them as the cause, than be rea- 
dy to commiserate or relieve them. So that compassion 
and charity are with him as useless, as humility and 
meekness are hateful. 

Sect. 3. A proud man makes an ill child, servant, 
and subject : he contemns his parents, master, and 
prince : he will not be subject. He thinks himself too 
wise, or too old, to be directed ; as if it were a slavish 
thing to obey ; and that none were free, that may not do 
what they please ; which turns duty out of doors, and 



144 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

degrades authority. On the other hand, if it be an hus- 
band, or father, or master, there is scarcely any endu- 
ring. He is so insufferably curious and testy, that it is 
an affliction to live with him : for hardly can any hand 
carry it even enough to please him. Some peccadillo 
about his clothes, his diet, his lodging, or attendance, 
quite disorders him : but especially if he fancies any 
want in the state and respects he looks for. Thus pride 
destroys the nature of relations : on the one side, it 
learns to contemn duty : and on the other side, it turns 
love into fear, and makes the wife a servant, and the 
children and servants, slaves. 

Sect. 4. But the proud man makes an ill neighbour 
too ; for he is an enemy to hospitality : he despises to 
receive kindness, because he would not shew any, nor 
be thought to need it. Besides, it looks too equal and 
familiar for his haughty humour. Emulation and de- 
traction are his element ; for he is jealous of attributing 
any praise to others, where just, lest that should cloud 
and lessen him, to whom it never could be due : he is 
the man that fears what he should wish, to wit, that 
others should do well. But that is not all; he mali- 
ciously miscalls their acts of virtue, which his corrup- 
tions will not let him imitate, that they may get no credit 
by them. If he wants any occasion of doing mischief, 
he can make one; either, they use him ill, or have some 
design upon him ; the other day they paid him not the 
cap and knee, the distance and respect he thinks his 
quality, parts, or merits do require. A small thing 
serves a proud man to pick a quarrel ; of all crea- 
tures the most jealous, sullen, spiteful, and revengeful : 
he can no more forgive an injury, than forbear to do 
one. 

Sect. 5. Nor is this all ; a proud man can never be a 
friend to any body. For besides that his ambition may 
always be bribed by honour and preferment to betray 
that relation, he is unconversible ; he must not be ca- 
techised and counselled, much less reproved or contra- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 145 

dieted : no, he is too covetous of himself to spare ano- 
ther man a share, and much too high, stiff, and touchy ; 
he will not away with those freedoms that a real friend- 
ship requires. To say true, he contemns the character ; 
it is much too familiar and humble for him ; his mighty 
soul would know nothing besides himself, and vassals 
to stock the world. He values other men as we do cat- 
tle, for their service only ; and, if he could, would use 
them so ; but as it happens, the number and force are 
unequal. 

Sect. 64 But a proud man in power is very mischiev- 
ous ; for his pride is the more dangerous by his great- 
ness, since from ambition in private men, it becomes 
tyranny in them : it would reign alone ; nay, live so, 
rather than have competitors : aut C^psar^ aut nullus. 
Reason must not check it, nor rules of law limit it ; and 
either it can do no wrong, or it is sedition to complain 
of the wrong that it does. The men of this temper 
would have nothing thought amiss they do ; at least, 
they count it dangerous to allow it to be so, though so 
it be ; for that would imply they had erred, which it is 
always matter of state to deny. No, they will rather 
choose to perish obstinately, than by acknowledging, 
yield away the reputation of better judging to inferiors ; 
though it were their prudence to do so. And, indeed, it 
is all the satisfaction that proud great men make to the 
world for the miseries they often bring upon it, that first 
or last, upon a division, they leave their real interest to 
follow some one excess of humour, and are almost ever 
destroyed by it. This is the end pride gives proud 
men, and the ruin it brings upon them, after it has pu- 
nished others by them. 

Sect. 7. But above all things, pride is intolerable in 
men pretending to religion ; and, of them, in ministers; 
for they are names of the greatest contradiction. I 
speak without respect or anger to persons or parties ; 
for I only touch upon the bad of all. What shall pride 
do with religion, that rebukes it ? or ambition with mi^ 



146 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

nisters, whose very office is humility ? And yet there 
are but too many of them, that, besides an equal guilt 
with others in the fleshly pride of the world, are even 
proud of that name and office, which ought always to 
mind them of self-denial. Yea, they use it as the beg- 
gars do the name of God and Christ, only to get by it : 
placing to their own account the advantages of that re- 
verend profession, and thereby making their function 
but a politic handle to raise themselves to the great pre- 
ferments of the world. But, O then, how can such be 
his ministers, that said, '^ My kingdom is not of this 
world ?" Who, of mankind, more self- conceited than 
these men ? If contradicted, as arrogant and angry as if 
it were their calling to be so. Counsel one of them, he 
scorns you ; reprove him, and he is almost ready to ex- 
communicate you. " I am a minister and an elder :" 
flying thither to secure himself from the reach of just 
censure, which indeed exposes him but the more to it : 
and therefore his fault cannot be the less, by how much 
it is worse in a minister to do ill, and spurn at reproof, 
than an ordinary man. 

Sect. 8. O but he pleads an exemption by his office ! 
What ! shall he breed up chickens to pick out his own 
eyes ? be rebuked or instructed by a lay-man, or parish- 
ioner ? a man of less age, learning, or ability ! no such 
matter ; he would have us believe that his ministerial 
prerogative has placed him out of the reach of popular 
impeachment. He is not subject to vulgar judgments. 
Even questions about religion are schism : believe as he 
says : it is not for you to pry so curiously into the mys- 
teries of religion : never good day since lay-men med- 
dled so much with the minister's office. Not consider- 
ing, poor man ! that the contrary is most true ; not 
many good days since ministers meddled so much in 
laymens business. Though perhaps there is little rea- 
son for the distinction, besides spiritual gifts, and the 
improvement of them by a diligent use of them for the 
good of others. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 147 

Such good sayings as these, " Be ready to teach ; 
answer with meekness ; let every man speak as of the 
gift of God, that is in him : if any thing be revealed to 
him that sits by, let the first hold his peace ; be not 
lords over God's heritage, but meek and lowly ; wash- 
ing the feet of the people, as Jesus did those of his poor 
disciples ;"* are unreasonable and antiquated instruc- 
tions with some clergy ; and it is little less than heresy 
to remember them of these things : to be sure a mark of 
great disaffection to the church, in their opinion. For 
by this time their pride has made them the church, and 
the people but the porch at best ; a cipher that signi- 
fies nothing, unless they clap their figure before it ; for- 
getting, that if they were as good as they should be, 
they could be but ministers, stewards, and under- shep- 
herds ; that is, servants to the church, family, flock, and 
heritage of God ; and not that they are that church, 
family, flock, and heritage, which they are only servants 
unto. Remember the words of Christ, *' Let him that 
would be greatest be your servant."^ 

Sect. 9. There is but one place to be found in the 
holy scripture, where the word clerus (kA?*^?) can pro- 
perly be applied to the church, and they have got it to 
themselves ; from whence they call themselves the cler- 
gy, that is, the inheritance or heritage of God. Whereas 
Peter exhorts the ministers of the gospel, " not to be 
lords over God's heritage, nor to feed them for filthy 
lucre. "^ Peter (behke) foresaw pride and avarice to be 
the ministers temptations ; and, indeed, they have often 
proved their fall : and, to say true, they could hardly 
fall by worse. Nor is there any excuse to be made for 
them in these two respects, which is not worse than 
their sin. For if they have not been lords over God's 
heritage^ it is because they have made themselves that 
heritage, and disinherited the people : so that now they 
may be the people's lords, with a salvo to good old Pe- 
ter's exhortation. :. 

» 2 Tim. ii. 24, 25. Tit. iii. 1 Cor. xlv. %Q. ^ Matt. xx. 26 

"■ 1 Pet. V. 2, 3. 

u 



148 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

And for the other sin of avarice, they can only avoid 
it, and speak truth, thus, '' that never feeding the flock, 
they cannot be said to feed it for lucre :" that is, they 
get the people's money for nothing. An example of 
which is given us, by the complaint of God himself, from 
the practice of the proud, covetous, false prophets of 
old, '* that the people gave their money for that which 
was not bread, and their labour for that which did not 
profit them :"** and why ? Because then the priest had no 
vision ; and too many now despise it. 

Sect. 10. But alas ! when all is done, what folly, as 
well as irreligion, is there in pride ? It cannot add one 
cubit to any man's stature : What crosses can it hin- 
der ? What disappointments help, or harm frustrate ? 
It delivers not from the common stroke ; sickness dis- 
figures ; pain mishapes ; and death ends the proud 
man's fabric. Six feet of cold earth bound his big 
thoughts ; and his person, that was too good for any 
place, must at last lodge within the strait Hmits of so lit- 
tle and so dark a cave : and who thought nothing well 
enough for him, is quickly the entertainment of the low- 
est of all animals, even worms themselves. Thus pride 
and pomp come to the common end ; but with this dif- 
ference, less pity from the living, and more pain to the 
dying. The proud man's antiquity cannot secure him 
from death, nor his heraldry from judgment. Titles of 
honour vanish at this extremity; and no power or wealth, 
no distance or respect can rescue or insure them : as the 
tree falls, it lies ; and as death leaves men, judgment 
finds them. 

Sect. II. O, what can prevent this ill conclusion ? 
and what can remedy this woful declension from ancient 
meekness, humility, and piety, and that godly life and 
power which were so conspicuous in the authority of 
the preachings, and examples of the living, of the first 
and purest ages of Christianity ! truly, nothing but an 

•J Isa. \v. 2. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 149 

inward and sincere examination, by the testimony of the 
holy Light and Spirit of Jesus, of the condition of their 
souls and minds toward Christ, and a better inquiry into 
the matter and examples of holy record. It was his 
complaint of old, " that light has come into the world, 
but men loved darkness rather than light, because their 
deeds were evil."^ If thou wouldest be a child of God, 
and a believer in Christ, thou must be a child of light. 
O man ! thou must bring thy deeds to it, and examine 
them by that holy lamp in thy soul, which is the candle 
of the Lord, that shews thee thy pride and arrogancy, 
and reproves thy delight in the vain fashions of this 
world. Religion is a denialof self ; yea, of self- religion 
too. It is a firm tie or bond upon the soul to holiness, 
whose end is happiness : for by it men come to see the 
Lord. *' The pure in heart (says Jesus) see God :"*^ he 
that once comes to bear Christ's yoke, is not carried 
away by the devil's allurements ; he finds excelling joys 
in his watchfulness and obedience. If men loved the 
cross of Christ, his precepts and doctrine, they would 
cross their own wills, which lead them to break Christ's 
holy will, and lose their own souls in doing the devil's. 
Had Adam minded that holy light in paradise more than 
the serpent's bait, and stayed his mind upon his Creator, 
the rewarder of fidelity, he had seen the snare of the ene-. 
my, and resisted him. O do not delight in that which 
is forbidden ! look not upon it, if thou wouldest not be 
captivated by it. Bring not the guilt of sins of know- 
ledge upon thy own soul. Did Christ submit his will 
to his Father's, and, for the joy that was set before him, 
endure the cross, and despise the shame of a new and un^ 
trodden way to glory l^ Thou also must submit thy will 
to Christ's holy law and light in thy heart, and for the 
rev/ard he sets before thee, to wit, eternal life, endure his 
cross, and despise the shame of it. All desire to rejoice 
witij him, but few will suifer with him, or for him. Many 
are the companions of his table ; not many of his absti- 
nence. The loaves they follow, but the cup of his ago- 

« John iii. 19, ' Matt. v. 8. ? Hcb. i. 2. 



150 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

• 
ny they leave. It is too bitter : they like not to drink 
thereof. And divers will magnify his miracles, that are 
offended at the ignominy of his cross. But, O man ! 
as he for thy salvation, so thou for the love of him must 
humble thyse f, and be contented to be of no repu- 
tation,' that thou mayest follow him ; not in a carnal, 
formal way, of vain man's tradition and prescription, but 
as the Holy Ghost by the apostle doth express it, *' In 
the new and living way,"* which Jesus hath consecrat- 
ed, that brings all that walk in it to the eternal rest of 
God : whereinto he himself is entered, who is the holy 
and only blessed Redeemer. 



bphil.ii.r *Heb.x.l9, 20. 



Part L NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 151 



CHAP. XIIL 

Sect. 1. Avarice, (the second capital lust) its definition and dis- 
tinction. 2, It consists in a desire of unlawful things. 3. 
As in David's case about Uriah's wife. 4. Also Ahab's 
about Naboth's vineyard. 5. Next, in unlawful desires of 
lawful things. 6. Covetousness is a mark of false prophets. 
7. A reproach to religion. 8. An enemy to government. 9. 
Treacherous. 10. Oppressive. 11. Judas an example. 12. 
So Simon Magus. 13. Lastly, in unprofitable hoarding of 
money. 14. The covetous man a common evil. 15. His 
hypocrisy. 16. Gold his god. 17. He is sparing to death. 
18. Is reproved by Christ and his followers. 19. Ananias 
and Sapphira's sin and judgment. 20. William TindaPs 
discourse on that subject referred unto. 21. Peter Charron's 
testimony against it. 22. Abraham Cowley's witty and 
sharp satire upon it. 

Sect. 1. 1 AM come to the second part of this dis- 
course, which is avarice, or covetousness, an epidemical 
and a raging distemper in the world, attended with all 
the mischiefs that canmake men miserable in themselves, 
and in society : so near a-kin to the foregoing evil, pride, 
that they are seldom apart : liberality being almost as 
hateful to the proud as to the covetous. I shall define 
it thus : Covetousness is the love of money or riches : 
•' which (as the apostle hath it) is the root of all evil."* 
It brancheth itself into these three parts : First, Desiring 
of unlawful things. Secondly, Unlawfully desiring of 
lawful things. And lastly. Hoarding up, or unprofit- 
ably withholding the benefit of them from the relief 

» Ephes. V. 3, 5. 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. 



152 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

of private persons, or the public. I shall first deliver the 
sense of scripture, and what examples are therein afford- 
ed against this impiety ; and next my own reasons, with 
some authorities from authors of credit : by which it 
M^ill appear, that the working of the love of riches out of 
the hearts of people, is as much the business of the 
Cross of Christ, as the rooting out of any one sin that 
man is fallen into. 

Sect. 2. And first, of desiring or coveting of unlawful 
things : It is expressly forbidden by God himself, in 
the law he delivered to Moses upon Mount Sinai, for a 
rule to his people, the Jews, to walk by : *' Thou shalt 
not covet (saith God) thy neighbour's house, thou 
shalt not covet thy neii-hbour's wife, nor his man- 
servant, nor his maid- servant, nor his ox, nor his 
ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."^ This God 
confirmed by thunderings and lightnings, and other 
sensible solemnities, to strike the people with more awe 
in receiving and keeping of it, and to make the breach 
of these moral precepts more terrible to them. Micah 
com.plains fuU-mouth'd in his time, " They covet 
.fields, and take them by violence ;'"' but their end 
was misery. Therefore was it said of old, " Wo to 
them that covet an evil covetousness :" this is to our 
point. We have many remarkable instances of this in 
scripture ; two of which I will briefly report. 

Sect. 3. David, though otherwise a good man, by 
unwatchfulness is taken ; the beauty of Uriah's wife was 
too hard for him, being disarmed, and off from his spi- 
ritual watch. There was no dissuasive would do : 
Uriah must be put upon a desperate service, where it 
was great odds if he survived it. This was to hasten 
the unlawful satisfaction of his desires by a way that 
looked not like direct murder. The contrivance took ; 
Uriah is killed, and his wife is quickly David's. This 
interpreted David's covetousness. But went it off so ? 

»> Exod. XX. <^ Mic. 1. 2. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 153 

No, David had sharp sauce with his meat. '« His plea- 
sure soon turned to anguish and bitterness of spirit : 
his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow : the waves 
went over his head : he was consumed within him : he 
was stuck in the mire and clay ; he cried, he wept ; yea, 
his eyes were as a fountain of tears. Guiltiness was up- 
on him, and he must be purged ; his sins washed white 
as snow, that were as red as crimson, or he is undone 
for ever."*^ His repentance prevailed : behold, what 
work this part of covetousness makes ! what evil, w^hat 
sorrow ! O that the people of this covetousness would 
let the sense of David's sorrows sink deep into their 
souls, that they might come to David's salvation ! *' Re- 
store me,'* saith that good man : it seems he once knew 
a better state : yes, and this may teach the better sort 
to fear, and stand in awe too, lest they sin and fall. 
For David was taken at a disadvantage : he was off his 
watch, and gone from the cross : the law was not his 
lamp and light, at that instant : he was a wanderer from 
his safety, his strong tower, and so surprised : then 
and there it was the enemy met him, and vanquished 
him. 

Sect. 4. The second instance is that of Naboth's vine- 
yard : it was coveted by Ahab and Jezebel :® that which 
led them to such an unlawful desire, found means to ac- 
complish it. Naboth must die, for he would not sell 
it. To do it, they accuse the innocent man of blasphe- 
my, and find two knights of the post, sons of Belial, to 
evidence against him. Thus, in the name of God, and 
in shew of pure zeal to his glory, Naboth must die ; and 
accordingly was stoned to death. The news of which 
coming to Jezebel, she bid Ahab arise and take posses- 
sion, for Naboth was dead ; but God followed both of 
them with his fierce vengeance. '' In the place where 
the dogs licked the blood of Naboth (saith Elijah in the 
name of the Lord) shall dogs lick thy blood ; even thine ; 
and I will bring evil upon thee, and take away th}^ pos- 

d Psal.U. Psal.lxxvii. Psal xlii.7. Psal. Ixix. 2, 14. Psul. vi. 6, 7. 
« 1 Kings xxi. 



il 



154 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

terity ;" and of Jezebel his wife and partner in this cove- 
tousness and murder, he adds, " the dogs shall eat her 
flesh by the walls of Jezreel.'' Here is the infamy and 
punishment due to this part of covetousness. Let this 
deter those that desire unlawful things ; the rights of 
others : for God that is just, w^ill certainly repay such 
with interest in the end. But perhaps these are few : 
either that they do not or dare not shew it, because the 
law will bite if they do. But the next part hath com- 
pany enough, that will yet exclaim against the iniquity 
of this part of covetousness ; and by their seeming ab- 
horrence of it, would excuse themselves of all guilt in 
the rest : let us consider that. 

Sect. 5. The next and most common part of covet- 
ousness is, the unlawful desire of lawful things ; espe- 
cially of riches. Money is lawful, *' but the love of it is 
the root of all evil," if the man of God say true. So rich- 
es are lawful ; but they that pursue them " fall into 
divers temptations, snares and lusts ;" if the same 
good man say right. He calls them " uncertain" to shew 
their folly and danger that set their hearts upon them. 
Covetousness is hateful to God: he hath denounced 
great judgments upon those that are guilty of it. God 
charged it on Israel of old, as one of the reasons of his 
judgments : " For the iniquity of his covetousness 
(saith God) was I wroth, and smote him." In another 
place, *' Every one is given to covetousness ; and from 
the prophet to the priest, every onedealeth falsely ; there- 
fore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to 
them that shall inherit them." In another place, God com- 
plained thus : " Butthine eyes and thy heart are not but for 
thy covetousness."^ By Ezekiel God renews and repeats 
his complaint against their covetousness : *' and they 
come to thee as the people, and sit before thee as my 
people : they hear thy words, but will not do them ; 
with their mouths they shew much love, but their 
hearts go after covetousness."^ Therefore God, in the 

f Isa. Ivii. 17. Jer. vi.l3. ch, viii. 10. and ixii. 17. 
z Ezek. xxxiii. 31. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 155 

choice of magistrates, made it part of their qualification 
to hate covetousness ; foreseeing the mischief that 
would follow to that society or government where co- 
vetous men were in power; that self would bias them, 
and they would seek their own ends at the cost of the 
public. David desired, *' that his heart might not in- 
cline to covetousness, but to the testimonies of his 
God."^ And the wise man expressly tells us, that, 
•* He that hateth covetousness, shall prolong his days ;"* 
making a curse to follow it. And it is by Luke charg- 
ed upon the Pharisees, as a mark of their wickedness. 
And Christ, in that evangelist, bids his followers take 
'' heed and beware of covetousness -.""^and he giveth a 
reason for it, that carrieth a most excellent instruction 
in it ; " for (saith he) a man's life consisteth not in 
the abundance of the things which he possesseth :"^ but 
he goeth farther ; he joins covetousness with adultery, 
murder, and blasphemy."" No wonder then if the apos- 
tle Paul is so liberal in his censure of this evil : he pla- 
ceth it with all unrighteousness, to the Romans :" to the 
Ephesians he write th the like ; and addeth, '* Let not 
covetousness be so much as named among you :"® and 
bids the Colossians, " mortify their members ;"p and 
names several sins, as fornication, uncleanness, and 
such like, but ends with covetousness ; with this at the 
tail of it, " which (saith he) is idolatry." And we 
know there is not a greater offence against God ; nay, 
this very apostle calls *' the love of money the root of 
all evil ; which (saith he) whilst some have coveted af- 
ter, they have erred from the faith, and pierced them- 
selves through with divers sorrows : for they that will 
be rich fall into temptation, and a snare, and many fool- 
ish and hurtful lusts. O man of God, (saith he to his 
beloved friend Timothy) flee these things, and follow 
after righteousness, faith, love, patience, and meek- 
ness.'"! 

'» Psal. cxix. 36. ' Prov. xxn. 16. k Luke xv?. 14. 

I Luke xii. 15. ™ Mark vii. 22. " R-mii. i. 29. 

» Eph. V. 3. p Col. iii. 5, 6. .' 1 T\^. ri. 9, 10, 1 L 

X 



1.56 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L: 

Sect* 6. Peter was of the same mind ; for he maketh 
covetousness to be one of the great marks of the false 
prophets and teachers that should arise among the Chris- 
tians ; and by that they might know them: " Who 
(saith he) through covetousness, shall, with feigned 
words make merchandise of you.'"" To conclude, there- 
fore, the author to the Hebrews, at the end of his epis- 
tle, leaves this, with other things, not without great zeal 
and weight upon them : " Let (saith he) your conver- 
sation be without covetousness," he rests not in this 
generality, but goes on, *' and be content with such 
things as you have : for God hath said, I will never 
leave thee, nor forsake thee :"^ What then? Must 
we conclude that those who are not content, but seek to 
be rich, have forsaken God ? The conclusion seems 
hard ; but yet it is natural : for such, it is plain, are 
not content with what they have ; they would have 
more ; they covet to be rich, if they may ; they live not 
with those dependencies and regards to Providence, to 
which they are exhorted ; nor is godliness, with content, 
great gain to them. 

Sect. 7. And truly it is a reproach to a man, espe- 
cially the religious man, that he knows not when he 
hath enough ; when to leave off ; when to be satisfied : 
that notwithstanding God sends him one plentiful sea- 
son of gain after another, he is so far from making that 
the cause of withdrawing from the trafficks of the world, 
that he makes it a reason of launching farther into it ; 
as if the more he hath, the more he may. He therefore 
reneweth his appetite, bestirs himself more than ever, 
that he may have his share in the scramble, while any 
thing is to be got : this is as if cumber, not retirement, 
and gain, not content, were the duty and comfort of a 
Christian. O that this thing was better considered ! for 
by not being so observable nor obnoxious to the law as 
other vices are, there is more danger, for want of that 
check. It is plain that most people strive not for sub- 

'2Pet. ii.3. »Heb. xiii. 5. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 157 

stance, but wealth. Some there be that love it strongly, 
and spend it liberally, when they have got it. Though 
this be sinful, yet more commendable than to love mo- 
ney for money's sake. That is one of the basest pas- 
sions the mind of man can be captivated with : a perfect 
lust ; and a greater, and more soul-defiling one there is 
not in the whole catalogue of concupiscence. Which 
considered, should quicken people into a serious ex- 
amination, how far this temptation of love of money 
hath entered them ; and the rather, because the steps it 
maketh into the mind are almost insensible, which ren- 
ders the danger greater. Thousands think themselves 
unconcerned in the caution, that yet are perfectly guilty 
of the evil. How can it be otherwise, when those that 
have, from a low condition, acquired thousands, labour 
yet to advance, yea, double and treble those thousands ; 
and that with the same care and contrivance by which 
they got them. Is this to live comfortably, or to be 
rich ? Do we not see how early they rise ; how late 
they go to bed ? how full of the change, the shop, the 
warehouse, the custom-house; of bills, bonds, charter- 
parties, &c. they are ? running up and down as if it 
were to save the life of a condemned innocent. An in- 
satiable lust, and therein ungrateful to God, as well as 
hurtful to men ; who giveth it to them to use, and not 
to love : that is the abuse. And if this care, contri- 
vance and industry, and that continually, be not from 
the love of money, in those that have ten times more 
than they began with, and much more than they spend 
or need, I know not what testimony man can give of 
his love to any thing. 

Sect. 8. To conclude. It is an enemy to government 
in magistrates ; for it tends to corruption. Wherefore 
those that God ordained,^were such as feared him, and 
hated covetousness. Next, it hurts society ; for old 
traders keep the young ones poor : and the great reason 
why some have too little, and so are forced to drudge 
like slaves to feed their families, and keep their chin 



J53 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

above water, is, because the rich hold fast, and press to 
be richer, and covet more, which dries up the little 
streams of profit from smaller folks. There should be 
a standard, both as to the value and time of traffic; 
and then the^ trade of the master to be shared among his 
servants that deserve it. This were both to help the 
young to get their livelihood, and to give the old time 
to think of leaving this world well, in which they have 
been so busy, that they might obtain a share in the 
other, of which they have been so careless. 

Sect. 9. There is yet another mischief to govern- 
ment ; for covetousness leads men to abuse and de- 
fraud it, by concealing or falsifying the goods they deal 
in : as bringing in forbidden goods by stealth, or law- 
ful goods so as to avoid the payment of dues, or own- 
ing the goods of enemies for gain ; or that they are not 
wxil made, or full measure ; with abundance of that sort 
of deceit. 

Sect, 10. But covetousness has caused destructive 
lends in families : for estates falHng into the hands of 
those, whose avarice has put them upon drawing greater 
profit to themselves than was consistent with justice, 
has given birth to much trouble, and caused great op- 
pression. It too often falling out, that such executors 
have kept the right owners out of possession with the 
ixipney thiey should pay them, 

Se^t.'Hf But this is not all ; for covetousness be- 
trays friendship : a bribe cannot be better placed to do 
an ill thing, or undo a man. Nay, it i^ a murderer too 
often both of soul and body : of the soul, because it kills 
thai life it should have in God : where money masters 
the mind, it extinguishes all love to better things : of 
the b^dy, for it will kill for money, by assassinations, 
poisons, false witness, &:c. I shall end this head of co- 
vetousness, with the sin and doora of two covetous 
nien, Judas and Simon Magus. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 159 

Judas' s religion fell in thorny ground : love of money 
choked him. Pride and anger in the Jews endeavoured 
to murder Christ ; but till covetousness set her hand to 
effect it^^they were all at a loss. They found Judas had 
the bag, and probably loved money ; they would try 
him, and did. The price was set, and Judas betrays 
his Master, his Lord, that never did him wrong, into the 
hands of his most cruel adversaries. But to do him 
right, he returned the money, and to be revenged on 
himself, was his own hangman. A wicked act, a wick- 
ed end. Come on, you covetous ! What say ye now^ to 
brother Judas ? Was he not an ill man ? Did he not 
very wickedly ? Yes, yes. Would you have done so ? 
No, no, by no means. Very well ; but so said those 
evil Jews of stoning the prophets, and that yet crucified 
the beloved Son of God ; he that came to save them, and 
would have done it, if they had received him, and not 
rejected the day of their visitation. Rub your eyes well, 
for the dust is got into them ; and carefully read in 
your own consciences, and see, if, out of love to 
money, you have not betrayed the just One in your- 
selves, and so are brethren with Judas in iniquity. I 
speak for God against an idol ; bear with me : have you 
not resisted, yea, quenched the good spirit of Christ, in 
your pursuit after your beloved wealth? "Examine 
yourselves, try yourselves ; know ye not your own- 
selves, that if Christ dwell not (if he rule not, and be not 
above all beloved) in you, you are reprobates;"^ in an 
undone condition ? 

Sect. 12. The other covetous man is Simon Magus, 
a believer too ; but his faith could not go deep enough 
for covetousness. He would have driven a bargain with 
Peter, so much money for so much Holy Ghost ; that 
he might sell it again, and make a good trade of it; 
corruptly measuring Peter by himself, as if he had only 
had a better knack of cozening the people than himself, 
who had set up in Samaria for the great power of God, 

' 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 



160 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

before the power of God in Philip and Peter undeceived 
the people. But what was Peter's answer and judg- 
ment ? '' Thy money (says he) perish with thee : thou 
hast neither part nor lot in this matter ; thou art in the 
gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity :"" a dis- 
mal sentence. Besides, it tends to luxury, and rises 
often out of it ; for from having much they spend much, 
and so become poor by luxury : such are covetous to 
get, to spend more, which temperance would prevent. 
For if men would not, or could not, by good laws well 
executed, and a better education, be so lavish in their 
tables, houses, furniture, apparel, and gaming, there 
would be no such temptation to covet earnestly after 
what they could not spend : for there is but here and 
there a miser that loves money for money's sake. 

Sect. 13. Which leads to the last and basest part of 
covetousness, v/hich is yet the most sordid ; to wit. 
Hoarding up, or keeping money unproiitably, both to 
others and themselves too. This is Solomon's miser, 
*' that makes himself rich, and hath nothing i"-" a great 
sin in the sight of God. He complained of such, as 
had stored up the labours of the poor in their houses ; 
he calls it their spoils, and that it is a grinding of the 
poor, because they see it not again.'' But he blesseth 
those that consider the poor, and commandeth every 
•one, '* to open freely to his brother that is in need;"^ 
not only he that is spiritually, but naturally so ; and, 
not to withhold his gift from the poor. The apostle 
charged Timothy in the sight of God, and before Jesus 
Christ, '* that he fail not to charge them that are rich in 
this world, that they trust not in their uncertain riches, 
but in the living God, who giveth liberally ; and that 
they do good with them, that they may be rich in good 
works."* Riches are apt to corrupt; and that which 
keeps them sweet and best, is charity : he that uses 
them not, gets them not for the end for which they 



" Acts viii. 8, 9 to 24. w Prc.v. svii. 7. " Isa.iii. 14, 15, 

y Psai. xli. 1. Deut. xv. 7- ^ ITiin. vi. 17. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 1^1 

are given ; but loves them for themselves, and not 
their service. The avaricious is poor in his wealth : 
he wants for fear of spending ; and increases his fear 
with his hope, which is his gain ; and so tortures him- 
self with his pleasure : the most like to the man that hid 
his talent in a napkin, of all others ; for this man's tal- 
ents are hid in his bags out of sight, in. vaults, under 
boards, behind wainscots ; else upon bonds and mor- 
gages, growing but as under ground ; for it doeth good 
to none. 

Sect. 14. This covetous man is a monster in nature ; 
for he has no bowels ; and is like the poles, always cold. 
An enemy to the state, for he spirits their money away. 
A disease to the body politic, for he obstructs the cir- 
culation of the blood, and ought to be removed by a 
purge of the law : for these are vices at heart, that de- 
stroy by wholesale. The covetous, he hates all useful 
arts and sciences as vain, lest they should cost him ' 
something the learning: wherefore ingenuity has no more 
place in his mind, than in his pocket. He lets houses 
fall, and highways poach, to prevent the charge of re- 
pairs : and for his spare diet, plain clothes, and mean 
furniture, he would place them to the account of mode- 
ration. O monster of a man ! that can take up the cross 
for covetousness, and not for Christ. 

Sect. 15. But he pretends negatively to some reli- 
gion too ; for he always rails at prodigality, the better 
to cover his avarice. If you would bestow a box of 
spikenard on a good man's head, to save money, and to 
shew righteous, he tells you of the poor : but if they 
come, he excuses his want of charity with the unwor- 
thiness of the object, or the causes of his poverty, or 
that he can bestow his money upon those that deserve 
it better ; who rarely opens his purse till quarter-day, 
for fear of losing it. 

Sect. 16. But he is more miserable than the poorest; 
for he enjoys not what he yet fears to lose ; they fear 



162 MO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

not what they do not enjoy. Thus he is poor by over- 
valuing his wealth ; but he is wretched, that hungers 
with money in a cook's shop : yet having made a god of 
hi- gold, who knows, but he thinks it unnatural to eat 
what he worships ? 

Sect. 17. But which aggravates this sin, I have myself 
once known some, that to get money, have wearied 
themselves into the grave ; and to be true to their prin- 
ciple, when sick, would not spare a fee to a doctor to 
help the poor slave to live ; and so died to save charges : 
a constancy that canonizes them martyrs for money. 

Sect. 18. But now let us see what instances the scrip- 
ture will give us in reproof of the sordid hoarders and 
hiders of money. A good-like young man came to 
Christ, and inquired the way to eternal life : Christ told 
him he knew the commandments : he replied, he had 
kept them from his youth : (it seems he was no loose 
person, and indeed such are usually not so, to save 
charges) '*and yet lackest thou one thing, (saith Christ,) 
sell all, distribute it to the poor, and thou shalt have 
treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." It 
seems Christ pinched him in the sore place ; he hit the 
mark, and struck him to the heart, who knew his heart: 
by this he tried how well he had kept the command- 
ments, to love God above all. It is said, the young 
man was very sorrowful, and went his way ; and the 
reason which is given, is, that he was very rich. The 
tides met, money and eternal life : contrary desires : 
but which prevailed ? alas ! his riches. But what said 
Christ to this ? '* How hardly shall they that have riches 
enter into the kingdom of God ?" He adds, " It is 
easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than 
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven :" 
that is, such a rich man, to wit, a covetous rich man, 
to whom it is hard to do good with what he has : it is 
more than an ordinary miracle : O who then would be 
rich and covetous ! It was upon these rich men that 
Christ. prQnounced his wo, saying, " Wo unto you that 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 163 

are rich, for ye have received your consolation here :'* 
What ! none in the heavens ? no, unless you become 
willing to be poor men, can resign all, live loose to the 
world, have it at arm's end, yea, underfoot, a servant, 
and not a master. 

Sect. 19. The other instance is a very dismal one too: 
it is that of Ananias and Sapphira. In the beginning of 
apostolic times, it was customary for those who received 
the word of life, to bring what substance they had, and 
lay it at the apostles feet : of these Joses, surnamed 
Barnabas, was exemplary. Among the rest, Ananias, 
and his wife Sapphira, confessing to the truth, sold their 
possession, but covetously reserved some of the pur- 
chase-money from the common purse to themselves, 
and brought a part for the whole, and laid it at the apos- 
tles feet. But Peter, a plain and a bold man, in the 
majesty of the Spirit, said, *' Ananias, why hath Satan 
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ; and to keep 
back part of the price of the land ? whilst it remained, 
was it not thine own ? and after it was sold, was it not 
in thine own power ? why hast thou conceived this 
thing in thine heart ? thou hast not lied unto men, but 
unto God." But what followed this covetousness and 
hypocrisy of Ananias ? Why, Ananias hearing these 
words. *' he fell down, and gave up the ghost." The 
like befel his wife, being privy to the deceit their ava- 
rice had led them to. And it is said, that " great fear 
came upon all the church, and those that heard of these 
things :" and also should on those that now read them. 
For if this judgment was shewn and recorded, that we 
should beware of the like evils, what will become df 
those, that under the profession of Christianity, a reli- 
gion that teaches men to live loose from the world, and 
to yield up all to the will and service of Christ and his 
kingdom, not only retain a part, but all ; and cannot 
part with the least thing for Christ's sake* I beseech 
God to incline the hearts of my readers to weigh these 
things. This had not befallen Ananias and Sapphira, 
if they had acted as in God's presence^ and with that 

Y 



1G4 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I, 

entire iove, truth, and sincerity, that became them. O 
that people would use the light that Christ has given 
them, to search and see how far they are under the pow- 
er of this iniquity I For would they but watch against 
the love of the world, and be less in bondage to the 
things that are seen, which are temporal, they would 
begin to set their hearts on things above, that are of an 
eternal nature. Their life would be hid with Christ in 
God, out of the reach of all the unciertainties of time, 
and troubles and changes of mortality. Nay, if people 
would but consider how hardly riches are got, how un- 
certainly they are kept, the envy they bring ; that they 
can neither make a man wise, nor cure diseases, nor add 
to life, much less give peace in death : no, nor hardly 
yield any solid benefit above food and raiment, which 
may be had without them, and that if there beany good 
use for them, it is to relieve others in distress ; being 
but stewards of the plentiful providences of God, and 
consequently accountable for our stewardship : if, I say, 
these considerations had any room in our minds, we 
should not thus post to get, nor care to hide and keep, 
such a mean and impotent thing- O that the cross of 
Christ, which is the Spirit and Power of God in man, 
might have more place in the soul, that it might crucify 
us more and more to the world, and the world to us ; 
that like the days of paradise, the earth might again be 
the footstool ; and the treasure of the earth a servant, 
and not a god, to man ! Many have writ against this 
vice ; three 1 will mention. 

Sect. 20. William Tindal, that worthy apostle of the 
English reformation, has an entire discourse, to which 
I refer the reader, entitled, '' The Parable of the Wick- 
ed Mammon. " The next is — 

Sect. 21. Peter Charron, a famous Frenchman, and 
in particular for die book he wrote of Wisdom, hath a 
chapter against covetousness, part of which take as fol- 
io weth : " To love and affect riches, is covetousness : 
not only the love and affection, but also every over- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 16J 

curious care and industry about riches. The desire of 
goods, and the pleasure we take in possessing of them, 
is grounded only upon opinion : the immoderate desire 
to get riches, is a gangrene in our souls, which, with a 
venomous heat, consumeth our natural affections, to the 
end it might fill us with virulent humours. So soon as 
it is lodged in our hearts, all honest and natural affec- 
tion, which we owe either to our parents or friends, or 
ourselves, vanisheth away : all the rest, in respect of our 
profit, seemeth nothing ; yea, we forget in the end. and 
condemn ourselves, our bodies, our minds, for this 
transitory trash ; and as our proverb is. We sell our 
horse to get us hay. Covetousness is the vile and base 
passion of vulgar fools, who account riches the princi- 
pal good of a man, and fear poverty, as the greatest evil; 
and not contenting themselves with necessary means, 
which are forbidden no man, weigh that is good in a 
goldsmith's balance, when nature has taught us to mea- 
sure it by the ell of necessity. For, what greater folly 
can there be, than to adore that which nature itself hath 
put under our feet, and hidden in the bowels of the 
earth, as unworthy to be seen ; yea, rather to be con- 
temned, and trampled under foot ? This is that which 
the sin of man hath only torn out of the entrails of the 
earth, and brought unto light to kill kimself. We dig out 
the bowels of the earth, and bring to light those things, 
for which we would fight : We are not ashamed to es- 
teem those things most highly, which are in the lowest 
parts of the earth. Nature seemeth even in the first 
birth of gold, and the womb from whence it proceedeth, 
after a sort, to have presaged the misery of those that are 
in love with it ; for it hath so ordered the matter, that 
in those countries where it groweth, there groweth with 
it neither grass, nor plant, nor other thing that is worth 
any thing : as giying us to understand thereby, that in 
those minds where the desire of this metal groweth, 
there cannot remain so much as a spark of true honour 
and virtue. For what thing can be more base, than for 
a man to degrade, and to make himself a servant and a 
slave to that which should be subject unto him ? Riches 



166 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

serve wise men, but command a fool : for a covetous 
man serveth his riches, and not they him : and he is 
said to have goods as he hath a fever, which holdeth and 
tyrannizeth over a man, not he over it. What thing more 
vile, than to love that which is notgood, neither can make 
a good man ? yea, is common, and in the possession of 
the most wicked in the world ; which many times per- 
verts good manners, but never amends them ? without 
which so many wise men have made themselves happy, 
and by which so many wicked men have come to a wick- 
ed end. To be brief; what thing more miserable than 
to bind the living to the dead, as Mezentius did, to the 
end their death might be languishing, and the more 
cruel ; to tie the spirit unto the excrement and scum 
of the earth, to pierce through his own soul with a 
thousand torments, which this amorous passion of riches 
brings with it ; and to entangle himself with the ties and 
cords of this malignant thing, as the scripture calls them; 
which doth likewise term them thorns and thieves, which 
steal away the heart of man, snares of the devil, idolatry, 
and the root of all evil. And truly, he that shall see 
the catalogue of those envies and molestations, which 
riches engender into the heart of man, as their proper 
thunderbolt and lightning, they would be more hated 
than they are now loved. Poverty wants many things, 
but covetousness all : a covetous man is good to none, 
and worse to himself." Thus much of Charron, a wise 
and great man. My next testimony is yielded by an 
author not unlikely to take with some sort of people for 
his wit ; may they equally value his morality, and the 
judgment of his riper time. 

Sect. 22. Abtaham Cowley, a witty and ingenious 
man, yieideth us the other testimony : of avarice he 
writeth us : ^* There are two sorts of avarice ; the one is 
but a bastard-kind, and that is a rapacious appetite of 
gain ; not for its own sake, but for the pleasure of re-- 
funding it immediately through all the channels of pride 
and luxury. The other is the true kind, and pro- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 1B7 

perly so called, which is a restless and unsatiable 
desire of riches not for any farther end or use, but only 
to hoard and preserve, and perpetually increase them. 
The covetous man of the first kind is like a greedy os- 
trich, which devoureth any metal, but it is with an intent 
to feed upon it, and in effect it maketh a shift to digest 
and excern it. The second is like the foolish chough, 
which loveth to steal money only to hide it. The first 
doeth much harm to mankind, and a little good to some 
few ; the second doeth good to none, no, not to himself. 
The first can make no excuse to God or angels, or ra- 
tional men, for his actions : the second can give no rea* 
son or colour, not to the Devil himself, for what he 
doeth: he is a slave to Mammon without wages. The 
first maketh a shift to be beloved, ay, and envied too, by 
some people : the second is the universal object of ha- 
tred and contempt. There is no vice hath been so 
pelted with good sentences, and especially by the poets, 
who have pursued it with satires, and fables, and allego- 
ries, and allusions, and moved, as we say, every stone 
to fling at it ; among all which, I do not remember a 
more fine correction, than that which was given it by 
one line of Ovid's : 

Multa 



Luxurise desunt, omnia avaritise. 

Which is, Much is wanting to luxury, all to avarice. 
To which saying I have a mind to add one member, 
and render it thus : Poverty wants some, luxury many^ 
avarice all things. Somebody saith of a virtuous and 
wise man, that having nothing, he hath all. This is 
just his antipode, who, having all things, yet hath no- 
thing. 

And oh ! what man's condition can be worse, 
Than his, whom plenty starves, and blessings curse ? 
The beggars but a common fate deplore ; 
The rich poor man's emphatically poor. 



168 NO CROSS, NO CROWN, Part I. 

I wonder how it cometh to pass, that there hath ne- 
ver been any law made against him : against him, do I 
say ? I mean, for him. As there are public provisions 
made for all other mad-men, it is very reasonable that 
the king should appoint some persons to manage his es- 
tate during his life, for his heirs commonly need not 
that care, and out of it to make it their business to see, 
that he should not want alimony befitting his condition ; 
which he could never get out of his own cruel fingers. 
We relieve idle vagrants, and counterfeit beggars, but 
have no care at all of these really poor men, who are, 
methinks, to be respectfully treated, in regard of their 
quality. I might be endless against them ; but I am 
almost choked with the superabundance of the matter. 
Too much plenty impoverisheth me, as it doth them." 
Thus much against avarice, that moth of the soul, and 
canker of the mind. 



Part L NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 1^9 



CHAP. XIV. 

Sect. 1. Luxuiy, what it is, and the mischiefof itto mankind. 
An enemy to the cross of Christ. 2. Of luxury in diet, how 
unlike Christ, and contrary to scripture. 3. The mischief it 
does to the bodies, as well as minds of people. 4. Of luxury 
in the excess of apparel, and of recreations : that sin brought 
the first coat : people not to be proud of the badge of their 
misery. 5. The recreations of the times enemies to virtue : 
they rise from degeneracy. 6. The end of clothes allowa- 
ble ; the abuse reprehended. 7. The chiefest recreation of 
good men of old, was to serve God, and do good to mankind, 
and follow honest vocations, not vain sports and pastimes. 
8. The heathens knew and did better things. The sobriety 
of infidels above Christians. 9. Luxury condemned in the 
case of Dives. 10. The doctrine of the scripture positively 
against a voluptuous life. 

Sect. 1. 1 AM now come to the other extreme, 
and that is luxury, which is, An excessive indulgence of 
self in ease and pleasure. This is the last great impiety 
struck at in this discourse of the holy cross of Christ, 
which indeed is much of the subject of its mortifying 
virtue and power. A disease as epidemical as killing : 
it creeps into all stations and ranks of men ; the poorest 
often exceeding their ability to indulge their appetite ; 
and the rich frequently wallowing in those things that 
please the lusts of their eye and flesh, and the pride of 
life ; as regardless of the severe discipline of Jesus, 
whom they call Saviour, as if luxury, and not the cross, 
were the ordained way to heaven. '' What shall we 
cat, what shall we drink, and what shall we put on ?" 
once the care of luxurious Heathens, is now the prac- 



170 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

tice^^and, which is worse, the study, of pretended Christ- 
ians. But let such be ashamed, and repent ; remem- 
bering that Jesus did not reproach the Gentiles for those 
things, to indulge his followers in them. They that 
will have Christ to be theirs, must be sure to be his, to 
be like-minded, to live in temperance and moderation, 
as knowing the Lord is at hand. Sumptuous apparel, 
rich unguents, delicate washes, stately furniture, costly 
cookery, and such diversions as balls, masques, music- 
meetings, plays, romances. Sec. which are the delight 
and entertainment of the times, belong not to the holy 
path that Jesus and his true disciples and followers trod 
to glory : no, '' through many tribulations (says none of 
the least of them) must we enter into the kingdom of 
God." I do earnestly beseech the gay and luxurious, 
into whose hands this discourse shall be directed, to 
consider well the reasons and examples here advanced 
against their way of living ; if haply they may come to 
see how remote it is from true Christianity, and how 
dangerous to their eternal peace. God Almighty by his 
2:race soften their hearts to instruction, and shed abroad 
his tender love in their souls, that they may be over- 
come to repentance, and to the love of the holy way of 
the cross of Jesus, the blessed Redeemer of men. For 
they cannot think that he can benefit them, while they 
refuse to lay down their sins for the love of him that 
laid down his life for the love of them ; or that he will 
give them a place in heaven, that refuse him any in 
their hearts on earth. Bat let us examine luxury in all 
its parts. 

Sect. 2. Luxury has many parts ; and the first that is 
forbidden by the self-denying Jesus, is the belly : 
" Take no thought, (says he to his disciples) saying, 
what shall we eat, or what shall we drink ? — for after 
these things do the Gentiles seek :'*' as if he had Sc>id, 
the uncircumcised, the Heathen, such as live without 
the true God, and make a god of their belly, whose care 

« Malt vi. 31, 32. 



Parti. no cross, no crown. in 

is to please their appetite, more than to seek God and 
his kingdom : you must not do so, but *' seek you first 
the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all 
other things shall be added." That which is conveni- 
ent for you will follow : let every thing have its time 
and order. 

This carries a serious reprehension to the luxurious 
eater and drinker, who is taken up with an excessive 
care of his palate and belly, what he shall eat, and 
what he shall drink : who being often at a loss what to 
have next, therefore has an officer to invent, and a cook 
to dress, disguise, and drown the species, that it may 
cheat the eye, look new and strange ; and all to excite 
an appetite, or raise an admiration. To be sure there 
is great variety, and that curious and costly : the sauce, 
it may be, dearer than the meat : and so full is he fed, 
that without it he can scarce find out a stomach ; which 
is to force an hunger, rather than to satisfy it. And as 
he eats, so he drinks ; rarely for thirst, but pleasure ; to 
please his palate. For that purpose he will have divers 
sorts, and he must taste them ail : one, however good, 
is dull and tiresome ; variety is more delightful than the 
best ; and therefore the whole world is little enough to 
fill his cellar. But were he temperate in his propor- 
tions, his variety might be imputed rather to curiosity 
than luxury. But what the temperate man uses as a 
cordial, he drinks by full draughts, till inflamed by 
excess, he is fitted to be an instrument of mischief, if 
not to others, always to himself; whom perhaps at 
last he knows not : for such brutality are some come to, 
they will sip themselves out of their own knowledge. 
This is the lust of the flesh, that is not of the Father, 
but of the world ; for upon this comes in the music and 
dance, and mirth, and the laughter which is madneejs,** 
that the noise of one pleasure may drown the iniquity 
of another, lest his own heart should deal too plainly 
with him. Thus the luxurious live ; *' they forget God, 
they regard not the afflicted." O that the sons and 

«>EccI. ii* 2. 

Z 



ir2 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

daughters of men would consider their wantonness and 
their iniquity in these things ! How ill do they requite 
the goodness of God in the use and abuse of the plenty 
he yields them : how cruel are they to his creatures, 
how lavish of their lives and virtue, how thankless for 
them ; forgetting the giver, and abusing the gift by their 
lusts ; and despising counsel, and casting instruction 
behind them. They lose tenderness, and forget duty, 
being swallowed up of voluptuousness ; adding one ex- 
cess to another. God rebuked this sin in the Jews by 
the prophet Amos : '' Ye that put far away the evil day, 
and cause the seat of violence to come near; and lie 
, upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their 
couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the 
calves out of the stall ; and chant to the sound of the 
viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like 
David : that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves 
with the chief ointments : but they are not grieved for 
the affliction of Joseph."'' — These, it seems, were the 
vices of the degenerate Jews, under all their pretence to 
religion ; and are they not of Christians at this day ? Yea, 
they are ; and these are the great parts of luxury struck at 
in this discourse. Remember Dives, with all his sump- 
tuous fare, went to hell : and the apostle pronounces 
heavy woes upon those '^ whose God is their belly ;" for 
such '* glory in their shame. "^ 

Christ places these things to the courts of worldly 
kings, not his kingdom ; making them unseemly in his 
followers ; his feast therefore, which was his miracle, to 
the multitude, was plain and simple ; enough, but with- 
out curiosity, or the art of cookery : and it went down 
well, for they were hungry ; the best and fittest time 
to eat. And the apostle, in his directions to his much 
.beloved Timothy, debases the lovers of worldly fulness ; 
advising him to '' godliness and content, as the chiefest 
gain :" adding, '* and having food and raiment, let us 
therewith be content."^ Behold the abstemious, and 
most contented life of those royal pilgrims, the sons of 

= Amos vi. 3, 4, 5, 6/ ^ Phil. iii. 19. « 1 Tim. vi. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.' 



Partl no cross, no crown. its 

heaven, and immortal offspring of the great power of 
God ; they were in fasts and perils often, and eat what 
was set before them ; and in all conditions learnt to be 
contented. O blessed men ! O blessed spirits ! let my 
soul dwell with yours for ever ! 

Sect. 3. But the diseases which luxury begets and 
nourishes, make it an enemy to mankind : for besides 
the mischief it brings to the souls of people^, it under- 
mines health, and shortens the life of man, in that it 
gives but ill nourishment, and so leaves and feeds corrupt 
humours, whereby the body becomes rank and foul, lazy 
and scorbutic ; unfit for exercise, and more for honest 
labour. The spirits being thus loaded with ill flesh, 
and the mind effeminated, a man is made unactive, and 
so unuseful in civil society ; for idleness follows luxury, 
as well as diseases. These are the burdens of the world^, 
devourers of good things, self-lovers, and so forgetters 
of God ; but (which is sad, and yet just) the end of those 
that forget God, is to be turned into hell."*^ 

Sect. 4. But there is another part of luxury, which 
has great place with vain man and woman, and that is the 
gorgeousness of apparel ; one of the foolishest, because 
most costly, empty and unprofitable excesses people can 
well be guilty of. We are taught by the scriptures of 
truth to believe that sin brought the first coat ; and if 
consent of writers be of force, it was as well without as 
within : to those that so believe, I direct my discourse, 
because they, I am sure, are the generality. I say, if 
sin brought the first coat, poor Adam's offspring have 
little reason to be proud or curious in their clothes ; for 
it seems their original was base, and the finery of them 
will neither make them noble, nor man innocent again.* 
But doubtless blessed was that time, when innocence, 
not ignorance, freed our first parents from such shifts : 
thev were then naked and knew no shame ; but sin made 
t»hem ashamed to be longer naked. Since therefore 

i Psal. ix. 17. g Gen. it 21. 



474 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

guilt brought shame, and shame an apron and a coat, 
how very low are they fallen, that glory in their shame, 
that are proud of their fall ! for so they are that use care 
and cost to trim and set off the very badge and livery of 
that lamentable lapse. It is all one, as for a mail that 
had lost his nose by a scandalous distemper, to take pains 
to set out a false one, in such shape and splendour, as 
should give but the greater occasion for all to gaze upon 
him; as if he would tell them, he had lost his nose, for 
fear they should think he had not. But would a wise 
man be in love with a false nose, though ever so rich, 
and however finely made ? Surely no : and shall people 
that call themselves Christians, shew so much love for 
clothes, as to neglect innocence, their first clothing ? 
Doth it not shi^w what cost of time, pains, and money, 
people are at to set off their shame, with the greatest shew 
and solemnity of folly ? is it not to delight in the effect 
of that cause, which they rather should lament? If a. 
thief were to wear chains all his Hfe, would their being 
gold, and well made, abate his infamy ? to be sure his 
being choice of them would increase it. Why, this 
is the very case of the vain fashion-mongers of this 
shameless age ; yet will they be Christians, judges in re- 
hgion, saints, what not ? O miserable state indeed ! to 
be so blinded by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, 
and the pride of life, as to call shame decency, and to 
be curious and expensive about that which should be 
their humiliation. And not only are they grown in love 
with these vanities, and thereby express how wide they 
are from primitive innocence; but it is notorious how 
many fashions have been and are invented on purpose 
to excite lust : which still puts them at a greater dis- 
tance from a simple and harmless state, and enslaves their 
minds to base concupiscence. 

Sect. 5. Nor is it otherwise with recreations, as they 
call them ; for these are nearly related. Man was made 
a noble, rational, grave creature : his pleasure stood in 
his duty, and his duty in obeying God ; which was to 
love, fear, adore, and serve him ; and in using the ere- 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 175 

ation with true temperance and godly moderation ; as 
knowing well that the Lord, his judge, was at hand, the 
inspector and rewarder of his works. In short, his 
happiness was in his communion with God ; his error 
was to leave that conversation, and let his eyes wander 
abroad to gaze on transitory things. If the recreations 
of the age were as pleasant and necessary as they are said 
and made to be, unhappy then would Adam and Eve 
have been, that never knew them. But had they never 
fallen, and the world not been tainted by their folly and 
ill example ; perhaps man had never known the necessity 
or use of many of these things, ^in gave them birth, 
as it did the other ; they were afraid of the presence of the 
Lord, which w^as the joy of their innocency, when they 
had sinned ; and then their minds wandered, sought 
other pleasures, and began to forget God ; as he com- 
plained afterwards by the prophet Amos : '' They put 
far away the evil day : they eat the fat of the flock : they 
drink wine in bowls : they anoint themselves with the 
chief perfumes : they stretch themselves upon beds of 
ivory : they chant to the sound of the viol, and invent 
unto themselves instruments of music, like David, not 
heeding or remembering the afflictions and captivity of 
poor Joseph ;"** him they wickedly sold, innocency was 
quite banished, and shame soon began to grow a custom 
till they were grown shameless in the imitation. And 
truly, it is now no less a shame to approach primitive 
innocence by modest plainness, than it was matter of 
shame to Adam that he lost it, and became forced to 
tack fig-leaves for a covering. Wherefore in vain do 
men and women deck themselves with specious preten- 
ces to religion, and flatter their miserable souls with the 
fair titles of Christian, innocent, good, virtuous, and 
the like, while such vanities and follies reign. Where- 
fore to you all, from the eternal God, I am bound to 
declare, " you mock him that will not be mocked, and 
deceive yourselves ;" such intemperance must be de- 
nied, and you must know yourselves changed, and mor^ 

^ Amos ?i.3, 4, 5, 6. ' Gal.vi. T 



176 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part h 

nearly approach to primitive purity, before you can be 
entitled to what you do but now usurp ; *' for none 
but those who are led by the Spirit of God, are the chil- 
dren of God,'*^ which guides into all temperance and 
meekness. 

Sect. 6. But the Christian world, as it would be cal- 
led, is justly reprovable, because the very end of the 
iirst institution of apparel is grossly perverted. The 
utmost service that clothes originally were designed for, 
when sin had stripped them of their native innocence, 
was, as hath been said, to cover their shame, therefore 
plain and modest : next, to fence out cold, therefore 
substantial : lastly, to declare sexes, therefore distin- 
guishing. So that then necessity provoked to clothing, 
now pride and vain curiosity : in former times some 
benefit obliged, but now wantonness and pleasure : then 
they minded them for covering, but now that is the least 
part ; their greedy eyes must be provided with gaudy 
superfluities ; as if they made their clothes for trim- 
ming, to be seen rather than worn ; only for the sake of 
other curiosities that must be tacked upon them, al- 
though they neither cover shame, fence from cold, nor 
distinguish sexes ; but signally display their wanton, 
fantastic, full-fed minds, that have them. 

Sect. 7. Then the best recreations were to serve God, 
be just, follow their vocations, mind their flocks, do 
good, exercise their bodies in such manner as was suit- 
able to gravity, temperance and virtue ; but now that 
word is extended to almost every folly that carries any 
appearance above open scandalous filth, detested of the 
very actors when they had done it ; so much are men 
degenerated from Adam in his disobedience ; so much 
more confident and artificial are they grown in all im- 
pieties ; yea, their minds, through custom, are become 
so very insensible of the inconveniency that attends the 
like follies, that what was once mere necessity, a badge 
of shamcj at best but a remedy, is now the delight, 

J' B-oir. vJii. 14. Gal. r. 24, 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN 177 

pleasure, and recreation of the age. How ignoble is it ! 
how ignominious and unworthy of a reasonable creature; 
man which is endued with understaixling fit to contem- 
plate immortality, and made a companion, if not supe- 
rior, to angels, that he should mind a little dust ; a few 
shameful rags ; inventions of mere pride and luxury ; 
toys, so apish and fantastic ; entertainments so dull and 
earthy, that a rattle, a baby, a hobby horse, a top, are 
by no means so foolish in a simple child, nor unworthy 
of his thoughts, as are such inventions of the care 
and pleasure of men. It is a mark of great stupidi- 
ty, that such vanities should exercise the noble mind 
of man, and image of the great Creator of heaven and 
earth- 

Sect. 8. Of this many among the very Heathens of 
old had so clear a prospect, that they detested all such 
vanity ; looking upon curiosity in apparel, and that va- 
riety of recreations now in vogue and esteem with false 
Christians, to be destructive of good manners, in that 
it more easily stole away the minds of people from so- 
briety to wantonness, idleness, effeminacy, and made 
them only companions for the beast that perishes : wit- 
ness those famous men, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, 
Aristides, Cato, Seneca, Epictetus, &c. who placed true 
honour and satisfaction in nothing below virtue and im- 
mortality. Nay, such are the remains of innocence 
among some Moors and Indians in our times, that they 
do not only traffic in a simple posture, but if a Christian, 
though he must be an odd one, fling out a filthy word, 
it is customary with them, by way of moral, to bring 
him water to purge his mouth. How much do the like 
virtues, and reasonable instances, accuse people profes- 
sing Christianity, of gross folly and intemperance ? O 
that men and women had the fear of God before their 
eyes ! and that they were so charitable to themselves, as 
to remember whence they came, what they are doing, 
and to what they must return : that so, more noble, 
more virtuous, more rational and heavenly things might 
be the matters of their pleasure and entertainment ! that 



178 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

they would be once persuaded to believe how inconsist- 
ent the folly, vanity, and conversation they are mostly 
exercised in, really are with the true nobility of a rea- 
sonable soul; and let that just principle, which taught 
the Heathens, teach them, lest it be found more tolera- 
ble for Heathens than such Christians in the day of ac- 
count ! For if their shorter notions, and more imper- 
fect sense of things could yet discover so much vanity ; 
if their degree of light condemned it, and they, in obe- 
dience thereunto, disused it, doth not it behove Chris- 
tians much more ? Christ came not to extinguish, no, 
but to improve that knowledge : and they who think 
they need do less now than before, had need to act bet- 
ter than they think. I conclude, that the fashions and 
recreations now in repute are very abusive of the end of 
man's creation ; and that the inconveniences that attend 
them, as wantonness, idleness, prodigality, pride, lust, 
yespect of persons, witness a plume of feathers, or a 
lace-coat, in a country village, whatever be the man that 
wears them, with the like fruits, are repugnant to the 
duty, reason, and true pleasure of man, and abso- 
lutely inconsistent with that wisdom, knowledge, 
manhood, temperance, industry, vvhich render man truly 
noble and good. 

Sect. 9. Again, these things which have been hither- 
to condemned, have never been the conversation or 
practice of the holy men and women of old times, whom 
the scriptures recommend for holy examples, worthy of 
imitation. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were plain men, 
and princes, as graziers are, over their families and 
flocks. They were not solicitous of the vanities so 
much lived in by the people of this generation, for in all 
things they pleased God by faith. The first forsook his 
father's house, kindred, and country ; a true type or fi- 
8:ure of that self-denial all must know, that would have 
Abraham to their father. They must not think to live 
in those pleasures, fashions and customs they are called 
to leave ; no, but part with all, in hopes of the great re- 
compense of reward, *'and that better country, which 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 179 

is eternal in the heavens."^ The prophets were gene- 
rally poor mechanics ; one a shepherd, another an herds- 
man, &c. They often cried out upon the full-fed, wan- 
ton Israelites to repent, to fear and dread the living God, 
to torsake the sins and vanities they lived in ; but they 
never imitated them. John Baptist, the messenger of 
the Lord, who was sanctified in his mother's womb, 
preached his embassy to the world in a coat of camel's 
hair, a rough and homely garment. Nor can it be con- 
ceived that Jesus Christ himself was much better appa- 
relled, who, according to the flesh, was of poor descent, 
and in life of great plainness ; insomuch that it was 
usual in way of derision to say, " Is not this Jesus the 
son of Joseph a carpenter ?""" And this Jesus tells his 
followers, that as for soft raiment, gorgeous apparel and 
delicacies, they w^ere for kings courts : implying, that 
he and his followers were not to seek after those things; 
but seems thereby to express the great difference that 
was betwixt the lovers of the fashions and customs of 
the world, and those whom he had chosen out of it* 
And he did not only come in that mean and despicable 
manner himself, that he might stain the pride of all 
flesh, but therein became exemplary to his followers, 
w^hat a self-denying life they must lead, if they would 
be his true disciples. Nay, he farther leaves it with them 
in a parable, to the end that it might make the deeper im- 
pression, and that they might see how inconsistent a 
pompous worldly-pleasing life is with the kingdom he 
came to establish and call men to the possession of: 
and that is the remarkable story of Dives ; who is re- 
presented, first, as a rich man ; next, as a voluptuous 
man in his rich apparel, his many dishes, and his 
pack of dogs ; and lastly, as an uncharitable man, or 
one who was more concerned how to please the lust 
of the eye, the lust of the fiesh, and the pride of life, 
and fare sumptuously every day, than to take com- 
passion of poor Lazarus at his gate : no, his dogs \vQrfi 

1 Heb. xi. Amos vii. 15, 16. «« Luke i. 15. Mat, iii. 1, 2, 3, 4'. 

Matt. xiii. 55.. Markvi.3, Luke vi'u 25. 

Aa 



180 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part F. 

more pitiful and kind than he. But what was the doom 
of this jolly man, this ^reat Dives ? We read it was 
everlasting torment ; but that of Lazarus eternal joy 
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of 
God. In short, Lazarus was a good man, the other a 
great man : the one poor and temperate, the other rich 
and luxurious : there are too many of them alive ; and 
it were well, if his doom might awaken them to re- 
pentance. ' 

Sect. 10. Nor were the twelve apostles, the immedi- 
ate messengers of the Lord Jesus Christ, other than poor 
men, one a fisher-man, another a tent-maker; and he 
that was of the greatest, though perhaps not the best 
employment, was a custom- gatherer. So that it is very 
unlikely that any of them were followers of the fashions 
of the world : nay, they were so far from it, that, as 
became the followers of Christ, they lived poor, afflicted, 
self-denying lives ; bidding the churches to walk as they 
had them for examples. And to shut up this particu- 
lar, they gave this pathetical account of the holy women 
in former times, as an example of godly temperance, 
namely, that first they did expressly abstain from gold, 
silver, braided hair, fine apparel, or such like ; and next, 
" that their adornment was a meek and quiet spirit, and 
the hidden man of the heart, which are of great price 
with the Lord :" affirming, " that such as live in plea- 
sure, are dead whilst they live ;"" for that the cares and 
pleasures of this life choke and destroy the seed of the 
kingdom, and quite hinder all progress in the hidden and 
divine life. Wherefore we find, that the holy men and 
women of former times were not accustomed to these 
pleasures and vain recreations ; but having their minds 
set on things above, sought another kingdom ; which 
consists in " righteousness, peace, and joy to the Holy 
Spirit ; who having obtained a good report, entered into 
their eternal rest,"** therefore their works follow, and 
praise them in the gates. 

n M^t. iv, 18. Mat. ix. 9. Acts xviii. 1, 2, 3. John xiii. 5, 1 Cor. iv. 9, 
10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Phil. iii. 17 1 Pe . ii. 21. Jam. i. 15, 20. 1 Pet. iii. 4, 5. 
1 Tim. V. 6. Luke viii. 14. ° Heb. xii. 2, 14, 15, 16. Heb. iv. 9. Rev. xiv. 13. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 181 



CHAP. XV. 

Sect. 1. The judgments of God denounced upon the Jews for 
their luxury ; all ranks Included. 2. Christ charges his dis- 
ciples to have a care of the guilt of it : a supplication to the 
inhabitants of England. 3. Temperance pressed upon the 
churches by the apostles. 4. An exhortation to England to 
measure herself by that rule. 5. What Christian recreations 
are. 6. Who need other sports to pass away their time, are 
unfit for heaven and eternity. 7. Man has but a few days : 
they may be better bestowed ; this doctrine is ungrateful to 
none that would be truly blessed. 8. Not only good is omit- 
ted by this luxurious life, but evil committed, as breach of 
marriage and love, loss of health and estate, &c. play-houses 
and stages most instrumental to this mischief. 9, How youth 
is by them inflamed to vanity : what mischief comes of revels, 
gamings, &c. Below the life of noble heathens, 10. The true 
disciples of Jesus are mortified in these things : the pleasure 
and reward of a good employment of time. 

Sect. 1. jLjUT such excess in apparel and pleasure 
was not only forbid in scripture, but it was the ground 
of that lamentable message by the prophet Isaiah to the 
people of Israel : " Moreover the Lord saith, because 
the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with 
stretched- forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and 
mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their 
feet ; therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown 
of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will 
discover their secret parts ; in that day the Lord will 
take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments, an4 
their cauls, or net- works, in the Hebrew, and their round 
tires like the moon ; the chains and the bracelets, and 



182 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part 1. 

the spangled ornaments ; the bonnets, and the orna- 
ments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, 
and the ear-rings, the rings and nose jewels ; the change- 
able suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, 
and the crisping pins ; the glasses, and the fine linen, 
and the hoods, and the veils : and it shall come to pass, 
that instead of sweet smells, there shall be a stink ; and 
instead of a girdle, a rent ; and instead of well-set hair, 
baldness ; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sack- 
cloth, and burning instead of beauty : thy men shall fall 
by the sword, and thy mighty in the war ; and her gates 
shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, shall 
sit upon the ground,'" Behold, O vain and foolish inha- 
bitants of England and Europe, your folly and your 
doom ! Yet read the prophet Ezekiel's vision of miser- 
able Tyre, what punishment her pride and pleasure 
brought upon her : and amongst many other circum- 
stances these are some ; *' These were thy merchants in 
all sorts of things ; in blue clothes and broidered work, 
and in chests of rich apparel, emeralds, purple, fine 
linen, coral and agate, spices, with all precious stones 
and gold, horses, chariots, Sec." For which hear part 
of her doom, ** Thy riches and thy fairs, thy merchan- 
dise, and all thy company, which is in the midst of 
thee, shall fall into the midst of the sea, in the day of 
thy ruin ; and the inhabitants of the isles shall be asto- 
nished at thee, and their merchants hiss at thee ; thou 
shalt be a terror, and shalt be no more.''** Thus hath 
God declared his displeasure against the luxury of this 
Wanton world. Yet farther the prophet Zephaniah goes> 
for thus he speaks : '* And it shall come to pass, in the 
day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, 
^nd the king's children, and all such as are clothed with 
Strange apparel."*^ Of how evil consequence was it in 
those times, for the greatest men to give themselves the 
liberty of following the vain customs of other nations ; 
0r of changing the usual end of clothes, or apparel, to 
gratify foolish curiosity ? 

« Isa. iii. 16 tp 26. ^ Ezek. :jLXvii. * Zeph. i. 8. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 183 

Sect. 2. This did the Lord Jesus Christ expressly 
charge his disciples not to be careful about ; insinuating 
that such as were, could not be his disciples : for, says 
he, " Take no thought, saying, what shall we eat ? or 
what shall we drink ? or wherewithal shall we be cloth- 
ed ? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for 
your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of 
all these things ; but seek ye first the kingdom of God, 
and his righteousness, and all these things shall be ad- 
ded unto you.'^d Under which of eating and drinking, 
and apparel, he comprehends all external things, what- 
soever ; and so much appears, as well because they are 
opposed to the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 
which are invisible and heavenly things, as that those 
very matters he enjoins diem not to be careful about, 
are the most necessary, and the most innocent in 
themselves. If then, in such cases, the minds of 
his disciples were not to be solicitous, much less in 
foolish, superstitious, idle inventions, to gratify the 
carnal appetites and minds of men : so certain it is, 
that those who live therein, are none of his followers, 
but the Gentiles ; and as he elsewhere says '* the na- 
tions of the world who know not God."® If then the 
distinguishing mark between the disciples of Jesus, 
and those of the world, is, that one minds the things of 
heaven, and God's kingdom, that '' stands in righteous- 
ness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost,"* being not 
careful of ext( rnal matters, even the most innocent and 
necessary, and that the other minds eating, drinking, 
apparel, and the affairs of the world, with the lusts, 
pleasures, profits, and honours that belong to it ; be you 
entreated for your souls sakes, O inhabitants of England, 
to be serious, to reflect a while upon yourselves, what 
care and cost you are at, of time and money, about fool- 
ish, nay, vitious things : so far are you degenerated from 
the primitive Christian life. What buying and selHng, 
what dealing and chaffering, what writing and posting, 

d Matt. vi. 31, 32, 33. « Luke xii. 22 to 36. 

- Rom. xiv. 17. 



184 . NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

what toil and labour, what noise, hurry, bustle and con- 
fusion, what study, what little contrivances and over- 
reachings, what eating, drinking, vanity of apparel, most 
ridiculous recreations ; in short, what rising early, go- 
ing to bed late, expense of precious time, is thereabout 
things that perish ? View the streets, shops, exchanges, 
plays, parks, coffee-houses, &c. And is not the world, 
this fading world, written upon every face ? Say not with- 
in yourselves, How otherwise should men live, and the 
world subsist ? the common, though fri|itIous objection : 
there is enough for all ; let some content themselves 
with less : a few things plain and decent, serve a Chris- 
tian life. It is lust, pride, avarice, that thrust men up- 
on such folly : were God's kingdom more the exercise 
of their minds, these perishing entertainments would 
have but little of their time or thoughts. 

Sect. 3. This self-denying doctrine was confirmed 
and enforced by the apostles in their example, as we 
have already shewn : and in their precepts too, as we 
shall yet evince in those two most remarkable passages 
of Paul and Peter ; where they do not only tell us what 
should be done, but also what should be denied and 
avoided. *' In like manner I will, that women adorn 
themselves in modest apparel : what is that ? with shame- 
facedness and sobriety ; not with broidered hair, or 
gold, or pearls, or costly array, [then it seems these 
are immodest] but, which becometh women professing 
godliness, with good works :"^ absolutely implying, that 
those who attire themselves with gold, silver, broidered 
hair, pearls, costly array, cannot in so doing be women 
professing godliness; making those very things to be 
contrary to modesty and what is good ; and consequent- 
ly that they are evil, and unbecoming " women profess- 
ing godliness." To which the apostle Peter joins an- 
other precept after the like sort, viz. " Whose adorning, 
let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, 
and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel : what 

g 1 Tim. U. 9, 10. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 18 J 

then ? but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that 
which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek 
and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great 
price." And as an inducement, he adds, '* for after 
this manner in the old time, the holy* women, who so 
trusted in God, adorned themselves." Which doth not 
only intimate, that both holy women were so adorned, 
and that it behoves such as would be holy, and trust in 
the holy God, to be so adorned ; but also, that they who 
used those forbidden ornaments, were the women and 
people in all ages, that, for all their talk, were not holy, 
nor did trust in God." Such are so far from trusting in 
God, that the apostle Paul expressly says, that '' she 
that liveth in pleasure is dead to God, whilst she liveth: "^ 
and the same apostle farther enjoined, *' that Christians 
should have their conversation in heaven, and their 
minds fixed on things above : walk honesty as in the 
day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering 
and wantonness, not in envy and strife : let not fornica- 
tion, uncleanness, or covetousness be once named 
amongst you ; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking or 
jesting, which are not convenient ; but rather giving of 
thanks : and let no corrupt communication proceed out 
of your mouth, but that which is good, to the use of edi- 
fying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no pror 
vision for the flesh, to fulfil the desires thereof. And 
grieve not the Holy Spirit ; intimating such conversa- 
tion doth ; but be ye followers of God, as dear children : 
walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise ; re- 
deeming the time, because the days are evil."i 

Sect. 4. By this measure yourselves, O inhabitants 
of this land, who think yourselves wronged if not ac- 
counted Christians : see what proportion your life and 

* Note, not a word of men, as if this vanity belonged not to the sex ; kt 
them observe that. 

fc 1 Tim. V. 6. 

i Phil. iii. 20. Col. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Rom. xiii. 13, 14. Eph. v. 2, 3 ch. W. 2'^. 
Rom. xiii. 14. Eph. iv,30. ch. v. 1, 15, 16. 



186 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

spirit bear with these most holy and self-denying pre* 
cepts and examples. Well, my friends, my soui mourns 
for you : I have been with and among you : your life 
and pastime are not strangers to ray notice ; and with 
compassion, yea, inexpressible pity, I bewail your folly. 
O that you would be wise ! O that the just principle in 
yourselves were heard ! O that eternity had time to plead 
a little with you ! Why should your beds, your glasses, 
your clothes, your tables, your loves, your plays, your 
parks, your treats, your recreations (poor perishing joys) 
have all your souls, your time, your care, your purse, 
and consideration ? be ye admonished, I beseech you, 
in the name of the living God, by one that sodie of you 
know hath had his share in these things, ^nd conse- 
quently time to know how little the like vanities conduce 
to true and solid happiness. No, my friends, God Al- 
mighty knows, and would to God, you would believe 
and follow me, they end in shame and sorrow. Faith- 
ful is that most Holy One, who hath determined, that 
every man and woman shall reap M^hat they sow : and 
win not trouble, anguish, and disappointment, be a sad 
and dreadful harvest for you to reap, for all your mis* 
spent time, and substance about superfluities and vain re- 
creations ? Retire then : quench not the Holy Spirit in 
yourselves ; redeem your precious abused time ; fre- 
quent such c» nversation as may help you against your 
evil inclinations ; so shall you follow the examples, and 
keep the precepts of Jesus Christ, and all his followers. 
For hitherto we have plainly demonstrated, that no such 
way of living, as is in request among you of the land, 
ever was, or can be truly Christian. 

Sect. 5. But the best recreation is to do good : and 
all Christian customs tend to temperance, and some 
good and beneficial end ; which more or less may be in 
every action. For instance: if men and women would 
be diligent to follow <^heir respective callings, frequent 
the assemblies of religious people, visit sober neighbours 
to be edified, and wicked ones to reform them ; be care- 
ful in the tuition of their children, exemplary to their 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 187 

servants, relieve the necessitous, see the sick, visit the 
imprisoned, administer to their infirmities, and indis- 
positions, endeavour peace amongst neighbours : also 
study moderately such commendable and profitable arts 
as navigation, arithmetic, geometry, husbandry, garden- 
ing, handicraft, medicine, &c. And, that women spin, 
sow, knit, weave, garden, preserve, and the like house- 
wifely and honest employments, the practice of the 
greatest and noblest matrons, and youth among the very 
Heathens, helping others, who for want are unable to 
keep servants, to ease them in their necessary affairs ; 
often and private retirements from all worldly objects, to 
enjoy the Lord : secret and steady meditations on the 
divine life and heavenly inheritance : which to leave 
undone, and prosecute other things, under the no- 
tion of recreations, is accursed lust and damnable 
impiety. It is most vain in any to object, that they 
cannot do these always, and therefore, why may not 
they use these common diversions ? For I ask, what 
would such be at ? what would they do ? and what 
would they have r They that have trades, have not time 
enough to do the half of what hath been recommended. 
And as for those who have nothing to do^ and indeed do 
nothing, which is worse, but sin, which is worst of all, 
here is variety of pleasant, of profitable, nay, of very 
honourable employments and diversions for them. Such 
can with great delight sit at a play, a ball, a masque, 
at cards, dice, Sec. drinking, revelling, feasting, and the 
like, an entire day ; yea, turn night into day, and in- 
vert the very order of the creation^ to humour their 
lusts. And were it not for eating and sleeping, it would 
be past a doubt, whether thty would ever find time to 
cease from those vain and sinful pastimes, till the hasty 
calls of death should summon their appearance in ano- 
ther world. Yet do they think it intolerable, and hardly 
possible for any to sit so long at a profitable or religious 
exercise. 



1^8 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

Sect. 6. But how do these think to pass their vast 
eternity away ? " for as the tree falls so it lies."*" Let 
none deceive themselves, nor mock their immortal souls, 
with a pleasant, but most false and pernicious dream, 
that they shall be changed by a constraining and irre- 
sistable power, just when their souls take leave of their 
bodies : no, no, my friends, '' what you sow, that shall 
you reap :"4f vanity, folly, visible delights, fading plea- 
sures ; no better shall you ever reap than corruption, 
sorrow, and the woful anguish of eternal disappoint- 
ments. But alas ! what is the reason that the cry is so 
common. Must we always doat on these things ? why, 
most certainly it is this, they know not what is the joy 
and peace of speaking and acting as in the presence of 
the most holy God : that passes such vain understand- 
ings, darkened Math the glories and pleasures of the god 
of this world ; whose religion is so many mumbled and 
ignorantly devout-said words, as they teach parrots ; for 
if they were of those whose hearts are set on things 
above, and whose treasure is in heaven,"" there would 
their minds inhabit, and their greatest pleasure constant- 
ly be : and such who call that a burden, and seek to be 
refreshed by such pastimes, as a play, a morrice- dance, 
a Punchinello, a ball, a masque, cards, dice, or the like, 
I am bold to affirm, they not only never knew the divine 
excellency of God, and his truth, but thereby declare 
themselves most unfit for them in another world. For 
how is it possible that they can be delighted to eternity, 
with that satisfaction which is so tedious and irksome 
for thirty or forty years ; that for a supply of recreation 
to their minds, the little toys and fopperies of this pe- 
rishing world, must be brought into practice and re- 
quest ? Surely, those who are to reckon for every idle 
word, must noi use sports to pass away that time, which 
they are commanded so diligently to redeem ;" consider- 
ing no less work is to be done, than making their 
*' calling and election sure :"° much less study to invent 

^ Eccl. xi. 3. 1 Gal. vi. 4 to 9. Eph. v. 6. ^ Phil. iv. 6, 7. Eph. 

iv. 18, 19, 20. Mat. xiii. 8, 9. Rom. x. 2. " Mat. xii. 18. « Eph. v. 1. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 189 

recreations for their vain minds, and spend the greatest 
part of their days and months, and years therein, not al- 
lowing a quarter of that time towards the great concern- 
ment of their lives and souls, for which that time was 
given them.p 

Sect. 7. There is but little need to drive away that, 
by foolish divertisements, which flies away so swiftly of 
itself; and when once gone is never to be recalled. 
Plays, parks, balls, treats, romances, musics, love- son- 
nets, and the like, will be a very invalid plea for any other 
purpose than their condemnation, who are taken and de- 
lighted with them, at the revelation of the righteous 
judgment of God. O my friends ! these were never 
invented, but by that mind which had first lost the joy 
and ravishing delights of God's holy presence. 'i So that 
we conclude, first, that of those many excellent employ- 
ments already mentioned, as worthy to possess such 
minds as are inclined to these vanities, there is store 
enough of time, not only to take up their spare hours, 
but double so much, and that with great delight, diver- 
sion, and profit, both to themselves and others ; were 
they but once weaned from vain and fruitless fopperies, 
and did they but consider, how great the satisfaction, 
and how certain the rewards are, which attend this, and 
the other life, for such universal benefits and virtuous 
examples. The second conclusion is, that what is al- 
leged by me can be displeasing and ungrateful to none, 
but such as know not what it is to walk with God, to 
prepare for an eternal mansion, to have the mind exer- 
cised on heavenly and good things, to follow the exam- 
ples of the holy men and women of former happy ages : 
such as know not Christ's doctrine, life, death, and re- 
surrection, but only have their minds fastened to the 
flesh, and by the objects of it are allured, deceived, and 
miserably ruined : and lastly, that despise heaven, and 
the joys that are not seen, though eternal, for a few 
perishing trifles that they do see, though they are dc- 

p Phi. m. 14, 2 Pet. ii. 10. Col. iv. 5. q 1 Tim. iv. 5 to XI. 



:^90 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

creed to pass away. How these are baptized with 
Christ, into his holy life, cruel sufferings, shameful 
death, and raised with him to immortal desires, heavenly 
meditations, a divine new life, growing into the know- 
ledge of heavenly mysteries, and all holiness, even unto 
the measure of the stature of Jesus Christ, the great ex- 
ample of all ; how, I say, these resemble most ne- 
cessary Christian qualifications, and what share they have 
therein, let their consciences tell them upon a serious 
pnquiry in the cool of the day.'' 

Sect. 8. But in the next place, such attire and pas- 
times do not only shew the exceeding worldliness of 
people's inclinations, and their very great ignorance of 
the divine joys, but by imitating these fashions, and fre- 
quenting these places and diversions, not only much 
good is omitted, but a certain door is opened to much 
evil to be committed. As first, precious time, that were 
worth a world on a dying bed, is lost : money, that 
inight be employed for some general good, vainly ex- 
pended : pleasure is taken in mere shame ; lusts are 
gratified, the minds of people alienated from heavenly 
things, and exercised about mere folly : pride taken in 
clothes, first given to cover nakedness, whereby the 
creature is neglected, at'-d the noble creation of God dis- 
regarded, and men become acceptable by their trims, 
and the alamodeness of their dress and apparel : from 
whence respect to persons doth so naturally arise, that 
for any to deny it, is to affirm the sun shines not at 
noon- day : nothing being more notorious, than the 
cringing, scrapiiig, sirring ana madaming of persons, 
according to the gaudiness of their attire, which is de- 
testable to God, and so absolutely forbidden in the 
scripiures, that to do it, is to bn ak the whole law, and 
consequently to incur the punishment thereof. Next, 
what great holes do the like practices make in men's 
estates ? how are their vocations neglected ? young wo- 
tnen deluded ? the marriage bed invaded ? contentions 

' Hpm. yi. 3 to 8. 1 Cor. xii. 13, Gal. iii. 27. Col. ii. 12, 13. Eph. iii. 12, 13 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 191 

and family-animosities begotten ? partings of man and 
wife ? disinheriting of children? dismissing of servants? 
On the other hand, servants made slaves, children 
disregarded, wives despised, and shamefully abused, 
through the intemperance of their husbands ; which 
either puts them upon the same extravagance, or, lay- 
ing such cruel injustice to heart, they pine away their 
days in grief and misery.^ But of all these wretched 
inventions, the play-houses, like so many hellish semi- 
naries, do most perniciously conduce to these sad and 
miserable ends; where little besides frothy, wanton, 
if not directly obscene and profane humours, are re- 
presented ; which are of notorious ill consequence 
upon the minds of most, especially the youth that fre- 
quent them. And thus it is that idle and debauched 
stagers are encouraged and maintained ; than which 
scarcely a greater abomination can be thought on of 
that rank of impieties, as will anon particularly be 
shown ; and truly, nothing but the excessive plea- 
sure people take therein could blind their eyes from 
seeing it. 

Sect. 9. But lastly, the grand indisposition of mind in 
people to solid, serious, and heavenly meditations, by 
the almost continual as well as pleasant rumination in 
their minds, of those various adventures they have been 
entertained with, which in the more youthful can never 
miss to inflame and animate their boihng and airy con- 
stitutions. '^ And in the rest of the common recreations 
of balls, masques, treats, cards, dice, &c. there are the 
like opportunities to promote the like evils. And yet 
farther ; how many quarrels, animosities, nay murders 
too, as well as expense of estate and precious time, have 
been the immediate consequences of the like practices ? 
In short, these were the ways of the Gentiles that knew 
not God,'* but never the practice of them that feared 
him : nay, the more noble among the Heathens them- 
selves, namely, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, Antist- 

* James ii. 1 to 9. « Job xxxv. 13. » Eph. iv. 17 to 25. 



192 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

henes, Heraclitus, Zeno, Aristides, Cato, Tully, Epic- 
tetus, Seneca, 8ic. have left their disgust to these things 
upon record, as odious and destructive, not only of the 
honour of the immortal God, but of all good order and 
government, as leading into looseness, idleness, ignor- 
ance and effeminacy, the great cankers, and bane of all 
states and empires. But such is the latitudinarian im- 
pudence of this age, that they canonize themselves for 
saints, if not guilty of every Newgate-filth, and kennel- 
impiety. And the pretended innocency of these things 
steals away their minds from that which is better, into 
the love of them : nay, it gives them confidence to plead 
for them, and by no means will they think the contrary : 
but why ? because it is a liberty that feeds the flesh, 
and gratifies the lustful eye and palate of poor mortality: 
wherefore they think it a laudable condition to be no 
better than the beast that eats and drinks but what his 
nature doth require, although the number is very small 
of such. So very exorbitant are men and women 
grown in this present age : for either they do believe 
their actions are to be ruled by their own wills ; or else, 
at best, that not to be stained with the vilest wickedness 
is matter of great boasting : and indeed it is so, in a 
time when nothing is too wicked to be done. But cer- 
tainly, it is a sign of universal impiety, in a land, when 
not to be guilty of sins, the very Heathens loathe, is to 
be virtuous, yes, and Christian too, and that to no small 
degree of reputation ; a dismal symptom to a country ? 
But is it not to be greatly blinded, that those we call in- 
fidels should detest those practices as infamous, which 
people, that call themselves Christians, cannot or will 
not see to be such, but guild them over with the fair 
titles of ornaments, decency, recreation, and the like ? 
Well, my friends, if there were no God, no heaven, no 
hell, no holy examples, no Jesus Christ, in cross, doc- 
trine and life to be conformed unto ; yet would charity 
to the poor, help to the needy, peace among neighbours, 
visits to the sick, care of the widow and fatherless,"^ with 

w Phil. Iv. 6, 7, 8, 9. Jab xxiv. 1% 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 193 

the rest of those temporal good offices already repeated, 
be a nobler employment, and much more worthy of your 
expense and pains. Nor mdeed is it to be conceived, 
that the way to glory is smoothed with such variety of 
carnal pleasures ; for then conviction, a wounded spirit, 
a broken heart, a regenerate mind, in a word, immorta- 
lity would prove as mere fictions as some make them, 
and others therefore think them : no, these practices are 
for ever to be extinguished, and expelled all Christian 
society. For I affirm, that to one who internally knows 
God, and hath a sense of his blessed presence, all such 
recreations are death : yea, more dangerously evil, and 
more apt to steal away the mind from the heavenly ex- 
ercise, than grosser impieties. For they are so big, 
they are plainly seen ; so dirty, they are easily detected : 
which education and common temperance, as well as 
constitution ia many, teach them to abhor ; and if they 
should be committed, they carry with them a propor- 
tional conviction. But these pretended innocents, these 
supposed harmless satisfactions, are more surprising, 
more destructive ; for as they easily gain an admission 
by the senses, so the more they pretend to innocency, 
the more they secure the minds of people in the com- 
mon use of them ; till they become so insensible of their 
evil consequences, that with a mighty confidence they 
can plead for them.^ 

Sect. 10. But as this is plainly not to deny themselves, 
but, on the contrary, to employ the vain inventions of 
carnal men and women to gratify the desire of the eye, 
the desire of the flesh, and the pride of life,^ all w^hich 
exercise the mind below the divine and only true plea- 
sure, or else, tell me what does : so, be it known to 
such, that the Heavenly life, and Christian joys are of 
another kind, as hath already been expressed : nay, that 
the true disciples of the Lord Christ must be hereunto 

X Prov. xviii. 14. Psal. U. 17. Matt. v. 4. Luke vi. 25. Rom. ii. 7. Ps^l, 
xl. 8. Prov. xiii. 21. Rom. vii. 22. Heb. xi. 13, 14, 15, 16. Rom. i. 25 to 39;- 
Job i.4. 

y 1 Jobnii.l5, 16,17. 



J 94 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

crucified, as to objects and employments that attract 
downwards, and that their affections should be raised to 
a more sublime and spiritual conversation, as to use 
this world, even in its most innocent enjoyments, as if 
they used it not. But if they take pleasure in any thing 
below, it should be in such good offices as before-men- 
tioned ; whereby a benefit may redound in some re- 
spect to others : in which God is honoured over all vi- 
sible things, the nation relieved, the government better- 
ed, themselves rendered exemplary of good, and thereby 
justly entitled to present happiness, a sweet memorial 
with posterity, as well as to a seat at his right hand, 
where there are joys and pleasures for ever : than which 
there can be nothing more honourable, nothing more 
certain, world without end.* 



CHAP. XVI. 

Sect. 1. Luxury should not be used by Christians, because of 
its inconsistency with the Spirit of Christianity. 2. The 
cup of which Christ's true disciples drank. 3. O ! who will 
drink of this cup? 4. An objection answered of the nature 
of God's kingdom, and what it stands in. 5. Of the frame 
of the spirit of Christ's followers. 

Sect. 1. ^UT the luxury opposed in this dis- 
course, should not be allowed among Christians, be- 
cause both that which invents it, delights in it, and 

« Job sxw. 7. Psal. y. 12. Psal. xxxvii. 25, 29. Prov. x.7. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 195 

pleads so strongly for it, is inconsistent with the true 
Spirit of Christianity ; nor doth the very nature of the 
Christian religion admit thereof. For therefore was it 
that immortality and eternal life were brought to light, 
that all the invented pleasures of mortal life, in which 
the world lives, might be denied and relinquished ; and 
for this reason it is. that nothing less than immense re- 
wards and eternal mansions are promised, that men and 
women might therefore be encouraged willingly to for- 
sake the vanity and tieshly satisfactions of the world, and 
encounter with boldness the shame and sufferings they 
must expect to receive at the hand of, it may be, their 
nearest intimates and relations.* 

For if the Christian religion had admitted the posses- 
sion of this world in any other sense, than the simple and 
naked use of those creatures really given of God for the 
necessity and convenience of the whole creation : for 
instance, did it allow all that pride, vanity, curiosity, 
pomp, exchange of apparel, honours, preferments, 
fashions, and the customary recreations of the world, 
with whatever may delight and gratify their senses ; 
then what need of a daily cross, a self denying life, 
*' working out salvation with fear and trembling," seek- 
ing the things that are above, having the treasure and 
heart in heaven, no idle talking, no vain jesting, but 
fearing and meditating all the day long, undergoing all 
reproach, scorn, hard usage, bitter mockings and cruel 
deaths ? What need these things ? and why should they 
be expected in order to that glorious immortality and 
eternal crown, if the vanity, pride, expense, idleness, 
concupiscence, envy, malice, and whole manner of liv- 
ing among the (called) Christians, were allowed by the 
Christian religion ? No certainly ; but as the Lord Jesus 
Christ well knew in what foolish trifles and vain plea- 
sures, as well as grosser impieties, the minds of men and 
women were fixed, and how much they were degene- 
rated from the heavenly principle of hfe, into a lustful 
or unlawful seeking after the enjoyments of this perish- 

a Lukexvi. 15. John xv. 17, 18, 19. ch. xvl.20. ch. xvii. 15, 16, 17. HeK 
xi. 24, 25, 26, 27- Rom. viii. 19. 2 Tim. iii. 11, 12. Heb. xii. 1, 2. 

C c 



196 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

ing world, nay, inventing daily new satisfactions to gra- 
tify their carnal appetites, so did he not less foresee the 
difficulty that all would have to relinquish and forsake 
them at his call, and with what great unwillingness they 
would take their leave of them, and be weaned from 
them. Wherefore to induce them to it, he did not speak 
unto them in the language of th^ law, that they should 
have an earthly Canaan, great dignities, a numerous 
issue, a long life, and the like : no, rather the contrary, 
at least to take these things in their course ;^ but he 
speaks to them in a higher strain, namely, He assures 
them of a kingdom and a crown that are immortal, that 
neither time, cruelty, death, grave or hell, with all its 
instruments, shall ever be able to disappoint, or take 
away, from those that should believe and obey him. 
Farther, that they should be taken into that near alliance 
of loving friends, yea, the intimate divine relation of dear 
brethren, and co-heirs with him of all celestial happi- 
ness, and a glorious immortality. Wherefore if it be 
recorded, that those who heard not Moses were to die, 
much more they who refuse to hear and obey the pre- 
cepts of this Great and Eternal Re warder of all that dili- 
gently seek and follow him.^ 

Sect. 2. And therefore it was that he was pleased to 
give us, in his own example, a taste of what his disciples 
must expect to drink deeply of, namely, the cup of self- 
denial, cruel trials, and most bitter afflictions ; he came 
not to consecrate a way to the eternal rest through gold 
and silver, ribands, laces, points, perfumes, costly 
clothes, curious trims, exact dresses, rich jewels, plea- 
sant recreations, plays, treats, balls, masques, revels, 
romances, love-songs, and the like pastimes of the world : 
no, no, alas ! but by forsaking all such kind of entertain- 
ments, yea, and sometimes more lawful enjoyments too ; 

fa MaU.xvi.24. Luke ix 23. Phil. ii. 12. Col. iii. 1, 2. Eph. v. 4. 5. Neh. siii. 
Psal. cxii. 1. Isa. xxviii. 14. Psa!. cxix. 97. Luke xviii. 23. Heb. xi. 16. ch. x. 
33. ch. xi. S7» 38. 

<: Luke vi. 20. ch. xii. 32. ch.xxii. 29. Col. i. 13. 1 Thess. ii. 12. Heb. xii. 28. 
Jfim.ii. 5. John xv. 14, 15. Rom. viii. 17. Heb. ii. 11. ch. xii. 2. 1 Pet. ii. 21. 
Luke xii. 89 to 31. 2 Tim. v. 6. Mfttt, xix, 27, 28, 29. Luke vi. 22. John xv. 10. 



Part I. NO CROSSNO, GROWN. lOr 

and cheerfully undergoing the loss of all on the one hand, 
find the reproach, ignominy, and the most cruel perse- 
cution from ungodly men on the other. He needed 
never to have wanted such variety of worldly pleasures, 
had they been suitable to the nature of his kingdom : 
for he was tempted, as are his followers, with no less 
bait than all the glories of the world :^ but he that com- 
manded to " seek another country, and to lay up trea- 
sures in the heavens that fade not away," and therefore 
charged them, never to be much inquisitive about what 
they should eat, drink, or put on, because (saith he) 
*' after these things the Gentiles, that knew not God, 
do seek ;" and Christians that pretend to know him too, 
" but, having food and raiment, therewith be content:" 
he, I say, that enjoined this doctrine, and led that holy 
and heavenly example, even the Lord Jesus Christ, bade 
them, that would be his disciples, '* take up the same 
cross, and follow him."* 

Sect. 3. O who will follow him ? Who will be true 
Christians ? we must not think to steer another course, 
nor to drink of another cup than hath the Captain of our 
salvation done before us J no ; for it is the very question 
he asked James and John, the sons of Zebedee of old, 
when they desired to sit at his right and left hand in his 
kingdom, " Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall 
drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am 
baptized withal ?"2 otherwise no disciples, no Christians. 
Whoever they are that would come to Christ, and be 
right Christians, must readily abandon every delight that 
would steal away the affections of the mind, and exer- 
cise it from the divine principle of life, and freely write 
a bill of divorce for every beloved vanity ; and all, under 
the Sun of righteousness, is so, compared with him. 

Sect. 4. But some are ready to object, who will not 
seem to want scripture for their lusts, although it be evi- 

d Matt.x. 37, 38. Luke xU. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. 

e Mat.xvi. 19, 20, 31, 32, 33. 1 Tim. vi. 6. to 11. Mat. viii.31 to 39. 

i Heb. ii. 10. g Malt. xx. 22, 23. 



I& 



198 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

dently misapplied, " The kingdom of God stands not in 
meats, or in drinks, or in apparel," &c. Answer, Right ; 
therefore it is that we stand out of them. But surely, 
you have the least reason of any to object this to us, who 
make those things so necessary to conversation, as our 
not conforming to them renders us obnoxious to your 
reproach; which how Christian, or resembling it is of 
the righteousness, peace, and joy in which the heavenly 
kingdom stands, let the just principle in your own con- 
sciences determine. Our conversation stands in tem- 
perance, and that stands in righteousness, by which we 
have obtained that kingdom your latitude and excess 
have no share or interest in. If none therefore can be 
true disciples, but they that come to bear the daily cross, 
and that none bear the cross, but those who follow the 
example of the Lord Jesus Christ, through his baptism 
and afflictions and temptations ; and that none are so 
baptized with him, but those whose minds are retired 
from the vanities in which the generality of the world 
live, and become obedient to the holy light and divine 
grace, with which they have been enlightened from on 
high, and thereby are daily exercised to the crucifying 
of every contrary affection, and bringing of immortality 
to light ; if none are true disciples but such, as most 
undoubtedly they are not, then let the people of these 
days a little soberly reflect upon themselves, and they 
will conclude, that none who Uve and delight in these 
vain customs, and this un-christ-like conversation, can 
be true Christians, or disciples of the crucified Jesus :^ 
for otherwise, how would it be a cross ? or the Chris- 
tian life matter of difficulty and reproach ? No, the of- 
fence of the cross would soon cease, vihich is the power 
of God to them that believe ; that every lust and vanity 
may be subdued, and the creature brought into an holy 
subjection of mind to the heavenly will of its Creator.^ 
For therefore has it been said, that Jesus Christ was and 
is manifested, that by his holy, self-denying life and doc^ 

h Rom. vi. 3, 4, 5, 6. Piil iii. 10. 1 Pet. iv. 13. Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13. Jolmi. 9- 
Honi. • i 6 Gal. ii.20. ch. v. 24. ch. vi. 4. 2 Tim. i. 10. 
i Gal.v. 11. 1 Cor. i. 17, 18. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 199 

trine, he might put a baffle upon the proud minds of men, 
and by the immortaUty he brought, and daily brings to 
light, he might stain the glory of their fading rests and 
pleasures ;^ that having their minds weaned from them, 
and being crucified thereunto, they might seek another 
country, and obtain an everlasting inheritance : *' for the 
things that are seen are temporal,"^ and those they were, 
and all true Christians are, to be redeemed from resting 
in ; but the things that are '' not seen, are eternal;*' those 
they were, and all are to be, brought to, and have their 
affections chiefly fixed upon."' 

Sect. 5. Wherefore a true disciple of the Lord Jesus 
Christ is to have his mind so conversant about heavenly 
things, that the things of this world may be used as if 
they were not : that having such things as are '^ neces- 
sary and convenient, he be therewith content,"^ with- 
out the superfluity of the world, whereby the plea- 
sure, that in times of ignorance was taken in the cus- 
toms and fashions of the world, may more abundantly 
be supplied in the hidden and heavenly life of Jesus : 
for unless there be an abiding in Christ, it will be im- 
possible to bring forth that much fruit which he requires 
at the hands of his followers, and wherein his Father is 
glorified. But as it is clear, that such as live in the vani- 
ties, pleasures, recreations, and lusts of the world, abide 
not in him, neither know him, for they that know him, 
depart from iniquity, so is their abiding and delighting 
in those bewitching follies, the very reason why they are 
so ignorant and insensible of him : '' Him who continu- 
ally stands knocking at the door of their hearts, "^ in 
whom they ought to abide, and whose divine power they 
should knov/ to be the cross on which every beloved lust 
and alluring vanity should be slain and crucified ; that so 
tlaey might feel the heavenly life to spring up in their 
hfear^sj^ and themselves to be quickened to seek the 
things that are above ; '' that when Christ shall appear, 
they might appear with him in glory, who is over all, 
God blessed for ever, Amen.''^ 

k V<'r. 27, 28, 29. » Heb. iv. 1 to 12. •« 2 Cor. iv. 1,7,8. 

n 1 Tim. vi. 8. o Rom. v. 6, 7, 8. John xv. 8. Rev. iii. 30. 

f Col. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Rom. ix. 5. 



200 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 



CHAP. XVII. 

Sect. 1. The customs, fashions, &c. which make up the at- 
tire and pleasure of the age, are enemies to inward retire- 
ment. 2. Their end is to gratify lust. 3. Had they been 
solid, Adam and Eve had not been happy, that never had 
them. 4. But the confidence and presumption of Christians, 
as they would be called, in the use of them, is abominable. 
5. Their authors farther condemn them, who are usually 
loose and vain people* 6. Mostly borrowed of the Gentiles,, 
that knew not God. 7. An objection of their usefulness con- 
sidered and answered, and the objectors reproved. 8. The 
best Heathens abhorring what pretended Christians plead 
for. 9. The use of these things encourages the authors and 
makers of them to continue in them* 10. The objection of 
the maintenance of families answered. None must do evil, 
that good should follow : but better employs may be found 
more serviceable to the world. 11. Another objection an- 
swered : God no author of their inventions, and so not excu- 
sable by his institution. 12. People pleading for these va- 
nities, shew what they are. An exhortation to be weighty 
and considerate. A great part of the way to true discipleship 
is, to abandon this school and shop of Satan. 

Sect. 1. W EXT, those customs and fashions, 
which make up the common attire and conversation of 
the times, do eminently obstruct the inward retirement 
of people's minds, by which they may come to behold 
the glories of immortality : who instead of "fearing 
their Creator in the days of their yourth, and seeking 
the kingdom of God in the first place,"* expecting the 

» Eccl. xii. 1. Luke adi. 29, 30, 31. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 201 

addition of such other things as may be necessary and 
convenient, according to the injunctions of God, and the 
Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as they can do any thing, 
they look after pride, vanity, and that conversation 
which is most delightful to the flesh, which becomes 
their most delightful entertainment : all which do but 
evidently beget lustful conceptions, and inflame to in- 
ordinate thoughts, wanton discourses, lascivious treats, 
if not at last to wicked actions. To such it is tedious 
and offensive to speak of heaven, or another life : bid 
them reflect upon their actions, not grieve the Holy 
Spirit, consider of an eternal doom, prepare for judg- 
ment ;^ and the best return that is usual, is reproachful 
jests, profane repartees, if not direct blows. Their 
thoughts are otherwise employed : their mornings are 
too short for them to wash, to smooth, to paint, to patch, 
to braid, to curl, to gum, to powder, and otherwise to 
attire and adorn themselves ; whilst their afternoons are 
as commonly bespoke for visits, and for plays ; where 
their usual entertainments are some stories fetched from 
the more approved romances ; some strange adventures, 
some passionate amours, unkind refusals, grand im- 
pediments, importunate addresses, miserable disappoint- 
ments, wonderful surprises, unexpected encounters, 
castles surprised, imprisoned lovers rescued, and meet- 
ing^ of supposed dead ones ; bloody duels, languishing 
voices echoing from solitary groves, overheard mournful 
complaints, deep-fetched sighs sent from wild deserts, 
intrigues managed with unheard-of subtlety : and whilst 
all things seem at the greatest distance, then are people 
alive, enemies friends, despair turned to enjoyment, and 
all their impossibilities reconciled; thingsthat never were, 
are not, nor ever shall or can be, they all come to pass.' 
And as if men and women were too slow to answer the 
loose suggestions of corrupt nature ; or were too in- 
tent on more divine speculations and heavenly affairs, 

b Eccl. iv. 8. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 31, 22. Epli. iv. 30. Jer. xviii. 18, 19, 20. ch. 
XX. 10. 

c Tit ii. 3, 4, 5. Eph.v.3,4. ITim.iv. 2. ITim.iv. 4. Psal. xii. 2. Ecc!. 
i. ll,ir. cb.Yi.9. Isa.v. 12. ch. xiv. 29. ch. lix. 3, 4. 



202 NO CROSS, NO tROWN. Part I. 

they have all that is possible for the most extravagant 
wits to invent, not only express lies, but utterly impos- 
sibilities to very nature, on purpose to excite their minds 
to those idle passions, and intoxicate their giddy fancies 
with swelling nothings, but airy fictions ; which not 
only consume their time, effeminate their natures, de- 
base their reason, and set them on work to reduce these 
things to practice, and make each adventure theirs by 
imitation ; but if disappointed, as who can otherwise 
expect from such mere phantasms, the present remedy 
is latitude to the greatest vice. And yet these are some 
of their most innocent recreations, which are the very 
gins of Satan to insnare people ; contrived most agree- 
able to their weakness, and in a more insensible man- 
ner mastering their affections, by entertainments most 
taking to their senses. In such occasions it is that 
their hearts breed vanity, their eyes turn interpreters to 
their thoughts, and their looks do whisper the secret 
inflammations of their intemperate minds ; wandering 
so long abroad, till their lascivious actings bring night 
home, and load their minds and reputations with lust 
ixnd infamy.*^ 

Sect. 2. Here is the end of all their fashions and re- 
creations, " to gratify the lust of the eye, the lust of the 
flesh, and the pride of life :"* clothes, that were g^vven 
to cover shame, now want a covering for their shame- 
ful excess ; and that which should remember men of 
lost innocency, they pride and glory in : but the hun- 
dredth part of these things cost man the loss of paradise, 
that now make up the agreeable recreation, ay, the ac- 
complishment of the times. For as it was Adam's 
fault to seek a satisfaction to himself, other than what 
God ordained ; so it is the exercise, pleasure and per- 
fection of the age, to spend the greatest portion of their 
time in vanities, which is so far from the end of their 
creation, namely, a divine life, that they are destructive 
ofit.^ 

<i Pi'ov. vii. 10 to 21 . el John ii. 15, 16. f Eccl . xU . 1. 



Part L NO CROSS, NO CROWN^ ^03^ 

Sect. 3. Were the pleasures of the age true and solidj 
Adam and Eve had been miserable in their innocency, 
who knew them not : but as it was once their happiness 
not to know them in any degree, so it is theirs, that 
know Christ indeed, to be by his eternal power redeem- 
ed and raised to the love of immortality : which is yet 
a mystery to those who live and have pleasure in their 
curious trims, rich and changeable apparel, nicety of 
dress, invention and imitation of fashions, costly at- 
tire, mincing gaits, wanton looks, romances, plays, 
treats, balls, feasts, and the like conversation in re- 
quest : for as these had never been, if man had staid 
at home with his Creator, and given the entire exercise 
of his mind to the noble ends of his creation; so cer- 
tain it is, that the use of these vanities is not only a 
sign that men and women are yet ignorant of their true 
rest and pleasure, but it greatly obstructs and hinders 
the retirement of their minds, and their serious inquiry 
after those things that are eternal.^ O, that there should 
be so much noise, clutter, invention, traffic, curiosity, 
diligence, pains and vast expense of time and estate, to 
please and gratify poor vain mortality ! and that the 
soul, the very image of divinity itself, should have so 
little of their consideration ! What, O what more preg- 
nant instances and evident tokens can be given, that it 
is the body, the senses, the case, a little flesh and bone 
covered with skin, the toys, fopperies, and very vani- 
ties of this mortal life and perishing world, that please, 
that take, that gain them ; on which they doat ; and 
think they never have too much time, love or money to 
bestow upon them. 

Sect. 4. Thus are their minds employed, and so vairi 
are they in their imaginations, and dark in their under- 
standings, that they not only believe them innocent, but 
persuade themselves they arc good Christians all this 

g Eph. ii. 1 to 5. Col. ii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Tii. ii. 11, 1?. 
Jam. V. 5. Matt. vii. 17, 18, 19. Roti. viil. 8. Matt. xvi. 36, 1 Cjr, vi. 15,- 
Job XXXV. 15. Isa. xL 6. 1 Pet. i. 24. 

j^ a 



204 No CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

while, and to rebuke them is worse than heresy. Thus 
are they strangers to thd hidden Ufe ; and by these 
things are they diverted from all serious examination of 
themselves ; and a little by-rote babble, with a forced 
zeal of half an hour's talk in other men's words, which 
they have nothing to do with, is made sufficient ; being 
ho more their states, or at least their intention, as their 
works shew, than was it the young man's in the gospel, 
that said, " he would go, and did not."^^ But alas ! 
why ? Oh, there are other guests ! What are they r 
Pharamond, Cleopatra, Cassandra, Clelia; a play, a ball, 
a spring-garden ; the park, the gallant, the exchange; 
in a word, the World. These stay, these call, these are 
importunate, and these they attend, and these aijp their 
most familiar associates. Thus are their hearts capti- 
vated from the divine exercise ; nay, from such exter- 
nal affairs as immediately concern some benefit to them- 
selves, or needy neighbours ; pleasing themselves with 
the received ideas of those toys and fopperies into their 
loose and airy minds : and if in all things they cannot 
practise them, because they want the means of it, yet as 
much as may be, at least to doat upon them, be taken 
with them, and willingly suffer their thoughts to be hur- 
ried after them. All which greatly indisposes the minds, 
and distracts the souls of people from the divine life and 
principle of the holy Jesus : but, as it hath been often 
said, more especially the minds of the younger sort, to 
whom the like divertisements, where their inclinations 
being presented with what is very suitable to them, they 
become excited to more vanity, than ever they thought 
upon before, are incomparably dearer than all that can 
be said of God's fear, a retired life, eternal rewards, and 
joys unspeakable and full of glory : so vain, so blind, 
and so very insensible are men and women of what truly 
makes a disciple of Christ !' O ! th^t they would pon- 
der on these things, and watch against, and out of all 
these vanities, for the coming of the Lord, lest being 

^ Luke viii. 14. Prov, i. 25, 30. ch. x. 17. ch. xii. 1. cli. xv. 15. Isa. Iviii. 1, 
2 to 10. Jer. xvi. 19, 20, 21. 2 Tim. iii. 4. Mat. vi. 7. » Isa. lix. 4. 

Jer. ii. 5. Eccl. xi. 10. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. '' 20j 

unprepared, and taken up widi other guests, they enter 
not into his everlasting rest.^^ 

Sect. 5. That which farther manifests the unlawful- 
ness of these numerous fashions and recreations is, that 
they are either the inventions of vain, idle and wanton 
minds to gratify their own sensualities, and raise the 
like wicked curiosity in others to i mitate the same ; by 
which nothing but lust and folly are promoted : or the 
contrivances of indigent and impoverished wits, who 
make it the next way for their maintenance, in both 
which respects, and upon both which considerations, 
they ought to be detested. For the first licenses ex- 
press impiety ; and the latter countenances a wretched 
way of livelihood, and consequently diverts from more 
lawful, more serviceable, and more necessary employ- 
ments. That such persons are both the inventors and 
actors of all these follies, cannot be difficult to demon- 
strate : for were it possible, that any one could bring 
us father Adam's girdle, and mother Eve's apron, what 
laughing, what fleering, what mocking of their homely 
fashion would there be ? surely their taylor would find 
but litde custom, although we read, it was God him- 
self " that made them coats of skins. "^ The like may 
be asked of all the other vanities, concerning the holy 
men and women through all the generations of holy 
writ. How many pieces of riband, and what feathers, 
lace-bands, and the like, did Adam and Eve wear in 
paradise, or out of it ? What rich embroideries, silks, 
points, 81c. had Abel, Enoch, Noah, and good old 
Abraham ? Did Eve, Sarah, Susannah, Elizabeth, and 
the Virgin Mary use to curl, powder, patch, paint, wear 
false locks of strange colours, rich points, trimmings, 
laced gowns, embroidered petticoats, shoes with slipslaps 
laced with silk or silver lace, and ruffled like pidgeons 
feet, with several yards, if not pieces of ribands ? How 
many plays did Jesus Christ and his apostles recreate 
themselves at ? . What poets, romances, comedies, and 

K Rom. xiii. 11, 12. Malt. xv. 7 to 14. ' Gen. iii. 21. 



2G6 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

the like, did the apostles and saints make, or use to pass 
away their time withal ? I know they bid all '' redeem 
their time, to avoid foolish talking, vain jesting, profane 
babblings, and fabulous stories ; as what tend to un- 
godliness ; and rather to watch, to work out their salva- 
tion with fear and trembling, to flee foolish and youthful 
lusts, and to follow righteousness, peace, goodness, 
love, charity ; and to mind the things that are above, as 
they would have honour, glory, immortality and eternal 
life."^ 

Sect. 6. But if I were asked, Whence came they 
then ^ I could quickly answer, From the Gentiles, that 
knew not God ; for some amongst them detested them, 
as will be shown ; they were the pleasures of an effemi- 
nate Sardanapalus, a fantastic Miracles, a comical Aris- 
tophanes, a prodigal Charaxus, a luxurious Aristippus ; 
and the practices of such women as the infamous Cly- 
temnestra, the painted Jezebel, the lascivious Cam- 
paspe, the immodest Posthumia, the costly Corinthian 
Lais, the most impudent Flora, the wanton Egyptian 
Cleopatra, and most insatiable Messalina: persons whose 
memories have stunk through all ages, and that carry 
with them a perpetual rot : these, and not the holy self- 
denying men and women, in ancient times, were devo- 
ted to the like recreations and vain delights. Nay, the 
more sober of the very Heathens themselves, and that 
upon a principle of great virtue, as is by all confessed, 
detested the like folly and wanton practices. There is 
none of them to be found in Plato, or in Seneca's 
Works : Pythagoras, Socrates, Phoci.jn, Zeno, Sec. did 
not accustom themselves to these entertainments. The 
virtuous Penelope, the chaste Lucretia, the grave Cor> 
nelia, and modest Pontia, with many others, could find 
themselves employment enough amongst their children, 
servants and neighbours : they, though nobles, next 
their devotion, delighted most in spinning, weaving, 

>n Eph. v.1,2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 22. Mat. xxv. 13. Phil. li. 
12,13. Col. iji. 1,2,5. Rom. ii. 6, 7. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CRO'vVN. 207 

gardening, needle- work, and such like good housewifery, 
and commendable entertainment : who, though called 
Heathens, expressed much more Christianity in all their 
actions, than do the wanton, foolish people of this age, 
who notwithstanding will be called Christians. But 
above all, you play-mongers, whence think you came 
your so passionately beloved comedies ? than which, as 
there is not any one diversion, that is more pernicious, 
so not one more in esteem and fondly frequented : 
Why, I will tell you. Their great grand-father was an 
Heathen, and that not of the best sort : his name was 
Epicharmus. It is true, he is called a philosopher, or a 
lover of wisdom ; but he was only so by name, and no 
more one in reality than the comedians of these times 
are true Christians. It is reported of him by Suidas, a 
Greek historian, that he was the first man who invented 
comedies ; and by the help of one Phormus, he made 
also fifty fables. But would you know his country, and 
the reason of his invention ? His country was Syracuse, 
the chief city in Sicily, famous for the infamy of many 
tyrants ; to please and gratify the lusts of some of whom, 
he set his wits to work* And do not you think this an 
ill original ? and is it less in any one to imitate or justify 
the same, since the more sober Heathens have them- 
selves condemned them ? nay, is it not abominable, when 
such as call themselves Christians do both imitate and 
justify the like inventions ? Nor had the melancholy 
tragedies a better parentage, namely, one Thespis, an 
Athenian poet ; to whom they also do ascribe the origi- 
nal of that impudent custom of painting faces, and the 
counterfeit or representation of other persons by change 
of habit, humours, &c. all which are now so much 
in use and reputation with the great ones of the times. 
To these let me add that poetical amoroso, whom an in- 
ordinate passion of love first transported to those poeti- 
cal raptures of admiration, indeed sordid effeminacy, if 
not idolatry ; they call him Alcman, or Alcina, a Ly- 
dian ; he, being exceedingly in love with a young wo- 
man of his own country, is said to have been the first 
person that gave the world a sight of that kind of folly, 



208 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

namely, love-stories and verses, which have been so dili- 
gently imitated by almost all nations ever since in their 
romances. 

Sect. 7. I know that some will say, But we have ma- 
ny comedies and tragedies, sonnets, catches, &c. that 
are on purpose to reprehend vice, from whence we learn 
many commendable things. Though this be shameful, 
yet many have been wont, for want of shame or under- 
standing, or both, to return me this for answer. Now 
I readily shall confess, that it was the next remedy 
amongst the Heathens, against the common vices, to 
the more grave and moral lectures of their philosophers 
of which number I shall instance two : Euripides, whom 
Suidas calls a learned tragical poet, and Eupolis, whom 
the same historian calls a comical poet. The first was 
a man so chaste, and therefore so unlike those of our 
days, that he was called "^^-irroyvmy or one that hated wo- 
men, that is, wanton ones^ for otherwise he was twice 
married : the other he characters as a most severe repre- 
hender of faults. From which I gather, that their design 
was not to feed the idle, lazy fancies of people, nor mere- 
ly to get money ; but since by the means of loose wits, 
the people had been debauched, their work was to re- 
claim them, rendering vice ridiculous, and turning wit 
against wickedness. And this appears the rather, from 
the description given, as also that Euripides was sup- 
posed to have been torn in pieces by wanton women ; 
which doubtless was for declaiming against their impu- 
dence : and the other being slain in the battle betwixt 
the Athenians and Lacedemonians, was so regretted, 
that a law was made, that never after such poets should 
be allowed to bear arms : doubtless it was because in 
losing him, they lost a reprover of vice. So that the 
end of the approved comedians and tragedians of those 
times was but to reform the people, by making sin odi- 
ous : and that not so much by a rational ...nd argumen- 
tative way, usual with their philosophers, as by sharp 
jeers, severe reflections, and rendering their vitious ac- 
tions shameful, ridiculous and detestable 5 so that for 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. HO^ 

reputation sake, they might not longer be guiky of them : 
whicji to me is but a little softer than a whip, or a Bride- 
welL Now if you that plead for them, will be content- 
ed to be accounted Heathens, and those of the more dis- 
solute and wicked sort too, that will sooner be jeered 
than argued out of your sins, we shall acknowledge to 
you, that such comedies and tragedies as these may 
be serviceable : but then for shame, abuse not the 
name of Jesus Christ so impudently, as to call yourselves 
Christians, whose lusts are so strong, that you are forc- 
ed to use the low shifts of Heathens to repel them : to 
leave their evils not for the love of virtue, but out of 
fear, shame, or reputation. Isthis your love to Jesus ?your 
reverence to the scriptures, that through faith are able 
to make the " man of God perfect ?" Is all your prattle 
about ordinances, prayers, sacraments, Christianity, and 
the like come to this ; that at last you must betake your- 
selves to such instructors, as were by the sober Heathens 
permitted to reclaim the most vitious of the people that 
were amongst them ? and such remedies too, as belou^ 
which there is nothing but corporal punishment. 

Sect. 8. This is so far from Christianity, that many of 
the nobler Heathens, men and women, were better 
taught and better disposed ; they found out more hea- 
venly contemplations, and subjects of an eternal nature 
to meditate upoi>. Nay, so far did they outstrip the 
Christians of these times, that they not only were ex- 
emplary by their grave and sober conversation, but, for 
the public benefit, the Athenians instituted the Gynae- 
cosmi, or Twenty Men, who should make it their bu- 
siness to observe the people's apparel and behaviour ; 
that if any were found immodest, and to demean them- 
selves loosely, they had full authority to punish them. 
But the case is altered, it is punishable to reprove such: 
yes, it is matter of the greatest contumely and reproach. 
Nay, so impudent are some grown in their impieties, 
that they sport themselves v/ith such religious persons, 
and not only manifest a great neglect of piety, and 
a severe life, bv their own looseness, but their extreme 



210 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

contempt of it, by rendering it ridiculous through comi- 
cal and abusive jests on public stages. Which, how 
dangerous it is, and apt to make religion little worth in 
the people's eyes, beside the demonstration of this age, 
let us remember, that Aristophanes had not a readier 
way to bring the reputation of Socrates in question with 
the people, who greatly reverenced him for his grave 
and virtuous life and doctrine, than by his abusive re- 
presentations of him in a play : which made the airy, 
wanton, unstable croud, rather part with Socrates in ear- 
nest, than Socrates in jest. Nor can a better reason be 
given why the poor Quakers are made so much the scorn 
of men, than because of their severe reprehensions of sin 
and vanity, and their self-denying conversation, amidst 
so great intemperance in all worldly satisfactions : yet 
can such libertines all this while strut, and swell for Chris- 
tians, and stout it out against precept and example; but 
we must be whimsical, conceited, morose, melancholy, or 
else heretics, deceivers, and what not ? O blindness ! 
Pharisaical hypocrisy ! as if such were fit to be judges 
of religion, or that it were possible for them to have a 
sight and sense of true religion, or really to be religious, 
whilst darkened in their understandings by the god of the 
pleasures of this world, and their minds so wrapped up 
in external enjoyments, and the variety of worldly de- 
lights : no ; in the name of the everlasting God, you 
mock him, and deceive your souls ; for the wrath of 
the Almighty is against you all, whilst in that spirit and 
condition : in vain are all your babbles and set perfor- 
mances, God laughs you to scorn ; his anger is kindling 
because of these things. Wherefore be ye warned to 
temperance, and repent. 

Sect. 9. Besides, this sort of people are not only 
wicked, loose and vain, who both invent and act these 
things ; but by your great delight in such vain inventi- 
ons, you encourage them therein, and hinder them from 
more honest and more serviceable employments. For 
what is the reason that most commodities are held at 
such excessive rates, but because labour is so very 



PartL no cross, no crown. 211 

dear ? And why is it so, but because so many hands are 
otherwise bestowed, even about the very vanity of all 
vanities ? Nay, how common is it with these mercenary 
procurers to people's folly, that when their purses begin 
to grow low, they shall present them with a new, and 
pretendedly more convenient fashion ; and that perhaps, 
before the former costly habits shall have done half their 
service : which either must be given away, or new vampt 
in the cut most alamode. O prodigal, yet frequent 
folly ? 

Sect. 10. I know I am coming to encounter the most 
plausible objection they are used to urge, when driven 
to a pinch, viz. " But how shall those many families 
subsist, whose livelihood depends upon such fashions 
and recreations as you so earnestly decry ?" I answer; 
It is a bad argument to plead for the commission of the 
least evil, that never so great a good may come of it : 
if you and they have made wickedness your pleasure 
and your profit, be ye content that it should be your 
grief and punishment, till the one can learn to be with- 
out such vanity, and the others have found out more 
honest employments. It is the vanity of the few great 
ones that makes so much toil for the many small ; and 
the great excess of the one occasions the great labour of 
the other. Would men learn to be contented with few 
things, such as are necessary and convenient, the an- 
cient Christian life, all things might be at a cheaper rate, 
and men might live for little. If the landlords had less 
lusts to satisfy, the tenants might have less rent to pay, 
and turn from poor to rich, whereby they might be able 
to find more honest and domestic employments for chil- 
dren, than becoming sharpers, and living by their wits, 
which is but a better word for their sins. And if the re- 
port of the more intelligent in husbandry be credible, 
lands are generally improveable ten in twenty : and were 
there more hands about more lawful and serviceable 
manufactures, they would be cheaper, and greater vent 
might be made of them, by which a benefit would re- 
dound to the world in g-eneral : nav, the burden lies the 



212 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

heavier upon the laborious country, that so many hands 
and shoulders, as have the lust-caterers of the cities, 
should be wanting to the plough and useful husbandry. 
If men never think themselves rich enough, they may 
never miss of trouble and employment ; but those who 
can take the primitive state and God's creation for their 
model, may learn with a little to be contented; as 
knowing that desires after wealth do not only prevent 
or destroy true faith, but when got, increase snares and 
trouble. It is no evil to repent of evil ; but that can- 
not be, whilst men maintain what they should repent 
of : it is a bad argument to avoid temperance, or justify 
the contrary, because otherwise the actors and inventors 
of excess would want a livelihood ; since t<^ feed them 
that way is to nurse the cause, instead of starving it. 
Let such of those vanity-hucksters as have got sufficient 
be contented to retreat, and spend it more honestly than 
they have got it ; and such as really are poor, be 
rather helped by charity to better callings : this were 
more prudent, nay. Christian, than to consume money 
upon such foolish toys and fopperies. Public work- 
houses would be effectual remedies to all these lazy and 
lustful distempers, with more profit, and a better con- 
science. Therefore it is that we cannot, we dare not 
square our conversation by the world's : no, but by our 
plainness and moderation to testify against such extra- 
vagant vanities ; and by our grave and steady life to 
manifest our dislike, on God's behalf, to such intem- 
perate and wanton curiosity ; yea, to deny ourselves 
what otherwise perhaps we lawfully could use with a 
just indifferency, if not satisfaction, because of that abuse 
that is amongst the generality. 

Sect. 11. I know, that some are ready farther to ob- 
ject ; " Hath God given us these enjoyments on pur- 
pose to damn us if we use them ?" Answer. But to such 
miserable, poor, silly souls, who would rather charge 
the most high and holy God with the invention or crea- 
tion of their dirty vanities, than want a plea to justify 
their own practice, not knowing how fbr shame, or fear. 



. Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 213 

or love, to throw them off; I answer, that what God 
made for man's use was good ; and what the blessed 
Lord Jesus Christ allowed, or enjoined, or gave us in 
his most heavenly example, is to be observed, believed, 
and practised. But in the whole catalogue the scriptures 
give of both, I never found the attires, recreations and 
way of living, so much in request with the generality of 
the Christians of these times :" no certainly. God creat- 
ed man an holy, wise, sober, grave, and reasonable 
creature, fit to govern himself and the world ; but Di- 
vinity was then the great object of his reason and plea- 
sure ; all external enjoyments of God's giving being 
for necessity, convenience, and lawful delight, with this 
proviso too, that the Almighty was to be seen, and sen- 
sibly enjoyed and reverenced, in every one of them. But 
how very wide the Christians of these times are from this 
primitive institution is not difficult to determine, al- 
though they make such loud pretensions to that most 
holy Jesus, who not only gave the world a certain evi- 
dence of an happy restoration, by his own coming, but 
promised his assistance to all that would follow him in 
'^ the self-denial and way of his holy cross ; and therefore 
hath so severely enjoined no less on all, as they would 
be everlastingly saved.** But whether the minds of men 
and women are not as profoundly involved in all excess 
and vanity, as those who know him not any farther than 
by hear- say ; and whether being thus banished the pre- 
sence of the Lord, by their greedy seeking the things 
that are below, and thereby having lost the taste of di- 
vine pleasure, they have not feigned to themselves an 
imaginary pleasure, to quiet or smother conscience, and 
pass their time without that anguish and trouble, which 
are the consequences of sin, that so they might be at 
ease and security while in the world ; let their own con- 
sciences declare. Adam's temptation is represented by 
the fruit of a tree ; thereby intimating the great influence 
external objects, as they exceed in beauty, carry with 
them upon our senses : so that unless the mind keep 

« Luke viii. 14. ch. xii. 28, 29 to 31. 

o John viii. 12. ch. xv. 6, 7, 8. ch. xvii. 20. 



tU NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

"Upon its constant watch, so prevalent are visible things, 
that hard it is for one to escape being ensnared in them ; 
and he shall need to be only sometimes entrapped, to 
cast so thick a veil of darkness over the mmd, that not 
only it shall with pleasure continue in its fetters to lust 
and vanity, but proudly censure such as refuse to wear 
them, strongly pleading for them, as serviceable and 
convenient. p That strange passion do perishing objects 
raise in those minds, where way is made, and enter- 
tainment given to them. But Christ Jesus is mani* 
fested in us, and hath given unto us a taste and under- 
standing of him that is true ; and to all, such a proper- 
tion of his good Spirit, as is sufficient, would they obey 
it, to redeem their minds from that captivity they liave 
been in to lust and vanity, and entirely ransom them 
from the dominion of all visible objects, and whatso- 
ever may gratify the desires of the eye, the hist of the 
flesh, and the pride of life, that they might be re- 
generated in their minds, changed in their affections, 
and have their whole hearts set on things that are above, 
where moth nor rust can never pass, or enter to harm or 
destroy.*' 

Sect. 12. But it is a manifest sign, of what mould 
and make those persons are, who practise and plead for 
such Egyptian shameful rags, as pleasures. It is to 
be hoped that they never knew, or to be feared they have 
forgot, the humble, plain, meek, holy, self-denying, and 
exemplary life, which the Eternal Spirit sanctifies all obe- 
dient hearts into ; yea, it is indubitable, that either such 
always hav«.- been ignorant, or else that they have lost 
sight, of that good land, that heavenly country and bles^ 
sed inherivance, they once had some glimmering pros- 
pect of' O that they would but withdraw a while, sit 
down, weigh and consider with themselves, where they 
are, and whose work and will they are doing ! that they 
would once believe, the devil hath not a stratagem more. 

P Rom. n. 8. Gen. iii. 6. Mark xiii. 33, 34, 35, 36, ST. 

1 1 John V. 20. 1 Thess, v, 23. 

' Gal. V. 22, 23, 24, 25. Eph. v. 8, 9, 10, 11 , 15, ^6. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 2U 

pernicious to their immortal souls, than this of exercis- 
ing their minds in the foolish fashions and wanton re- 
creations of the times! Great and t^ross impieties beget 
a detestation in the opinion of sober education and re- 
putation ; and therefore since the devil rightly sees 
such things have no success with many, it is his next 
and fatalest design to find some other entertainments, 
that carry less of infection in their looks, though 
more of securitv, because less of scandal and more 
of pleasure in their enjoyment, on purpose to busy 
and arrest people from a diligent search and inquiry 
after those matters which necessarily concern their 
eternal peace : that being ignorant of the heavenly life, 
they may not be induced to press after it ; but, being 
only formally religious, according to the traditions and 
precepts of others, proceed to their common pleasures, 
and find no check therefrom, their religion and conver- 
sation for the most part agreeing well together, where- 
by an improvement in the knowledge of God, a going 
on from grace to grace, a growing to the measure of the 
stature of Jesus Christ himself is not known : but as it 
was in the beginning at seven, so it is at seventy ; nay, 
not so innocent, unless by reason of the old saying. Old 
men are twdce children. Oh ! the mystery of godliness, 
the heavenly life, the true Christian, are another thing !^ 
Wherefore we conclude, that as the design of the devil, 
where he cannot involve and draw into gross sin, is to 
busy, delight, and allure the minds of men and women 
by more seeming innocent entertainments, on purpose 
that he may more easily secure them from minding their 
duty and progress and obedience to the only true God, 
which is eternal life ; and thereby take up their minds 
from heavenly and eternal things : so those who would 
be delivered from these snares should mind the holy, 
just, grave, and self-denying teachings of God's Grace 
and Spirit in themselves, that they may reject and for 
ever abandon the like vanity and evil ; and, by a reform- 
ed conversation, condemn the world of its intemperance : 

» Eph. vl 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, ir, 18. Eph. i. 16 to 23. ch. iv. 12, 13. 



216 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

so will the true discipleship be obtained ; for otherwise 
many enormous consequences, and pernicious effects 
will follow. It is to encourage such impious persons to 
continue and proceed in the like trades of feeding the 
people's lusts, and thereby such make themselves par- 
takers of their plagues, who, by continual fresh desires 
to the like curiosities, and that way of spending time 
and estate, induce them to spend more time in studying 
how to *' abuse time ;"Mest, through their pinching and 
small allowance, those prodigals should call their Fa- 
ther's house to mind : for, whatsoever any think, more 
pleasant baits, alluring objects, grateful entertainments, 
cunning emissaries, acceptable sermons, insinuating 
lectures, taking orators, the crafty devil has not ever 
had, by which to entice and ensnare the minds of peo- 
ple, and totally to divert them from heavenly reflec- 
tions, and divine meditations, than the attire, sports, 
plays, and pastimes of this godless age, the school and 
shop of Satan, hitherto so reasonably condemned. 

^ John ?tvii. 3. Rom. i. H- Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13, 14. 



PartL no cross, no crown. 217 



CHAP. XVIII. 



Sect. 1. But if these customs, &c. were but indifferent, yet 
being abused, they deserve to be rejected. 2. The abuse is 
acknowledged by those that use them, therefore should leave 
them. 3. Such as pretend to seriousness, should exemplarily 
withdraw from such latitudes : a wise parent weans his child 
of what it doats too much upon ; and we should watch over 
ourselves and neighbours. 4. God, in the case of the brazen 
serpent, &c. gives us an example to put away the use of abu- 
sed things. 5. If these things were sometimes convenient, 
yet when their use is prejudicial in example, they should be 
disused. 6. Such as yet proceed to love their unlawful plea- 
sures more than Christ and his cross, the mischief they have 
brought to persons and estates, bodies and souls. 7. Inge- 
nuous people know this to be true ; an appeal to God's Wit- 
ness in the guilty: their stat^ that of Babylon. 8. But 
temperance in food, and plainness in apparel, and sober con- 
versation, conduce most to good : so the apostle teaches in 
his epistles. 9. Temperance enriches aland : it is a political 
good, as well as a religious one in all governments. 10. 
When people have done their duty to God, it will be time 
enough to think of pleasing themselves. 11. An address 
to the magistrates, and all people, how to convert their time 
and money to better purposes. 

Sect. 1. BUT should these things be as indiffer- 
ent, as they are proved perniciously unlawful, for I 
never heard any advance their plea beyond the bounds 
of mere indifferency, yet so great is their abuse, so uni- 
versal the sad effects thereof, like to an infection, that 
they therefore ought to be rejected of all, especially those, 
Avhose sobriety hath preserved them on this side of that 



218 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I 

• 

excess, or whose judgments, though themselves be 
guilty, suggest the folly of such intemperance. For what 
is an indifferent thing, but that which may be done, or 
left undone ? Granting, I say this were the case, yet 
doth both reason and religion teach, that when they are 
used with such an excess of appetite, as to leave them, 
would be a cross to their desires, they have exceeded the 
bounds of mere indifferency, and are thereby rendered 
no less than necessary. Which being a violation of the 
very nature of the things themselves, a perfect abuse 
enters ; and consequently they are no longer to be 
considered in the rank of things simply indifferent, but 
unlawful. 

Sect. 2. Now that the whole exchange of things 
against which I have so earnestly contended, are gene- 
rally abused by the excess of almost all ages, sexes, and 
qualities of people, will be confessed by many, who yet 
decline not to conform themselves to them ; and to 
whom, as I have understood, it only seems lawful, be- 
cause, say they, the abuse of others should be no argu- 
ment why we should not use them. But to such I an. 
swer, that they have quite forgot, or will not remember, 
they have acknowledged these things to be but of an in- 
different nature : if so, and vanity never urged more, I 
say, there can be nothing more clear, than since they 
acknowledged their great abuse, that they are wholly to 
be forsaken: for since they may as well be let alone as 
done at any time, surely they should then of duty be let 
alone, when the use of them is an abetting the general 
excess, and a mere exciting others to continue in their 
abuse, because they find persons reputed sober to imi- 
tate them, or otherwise give them an example :^ precepts 
are not half so forcible as examples. 

Sect. 3. Every one that pretends to seriousness ought 
to inspect himself, as having been too forward to help on 
the excess, and can never make too much haste out of 

» Phil. iii. 17. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 219 

those inconveniences, that by his former example he 
encouraged any to ; that by a new one he may put a 
seasonable check upon the intemperance of others.^ A 
wise parent ever withdraws those objects, however inno- 
cent in themselves, which are too prevalent upon the 
weak senses of his children, on purpose that they might 
be weaned. And it is as frequent with men to bend a 
crooked stick as much the contrary way, that they might 
make it straight at last. Those that have more sobriety 
than others should not forget their stewardships, but 
exercise that gift of God to the security of their neigh- 
bours. It was murdering Cain that rudely asked the 
Lord, ** Was he his brother's keeper ?"* for every man 
is necessarily obliged thereto ; and therefore should be 
so wise, as to deny himself the use of such indiffer- 
ent enjoyments, as cannot be used by him without too 
manifest an encouragement to his neighbour's folly. 

Sect. 4. God hath sufficiently excited men to what is 
said ; for in the case of the brazen serpent, which was 
an heavenly institution and type of Christ, he with great 
displeasure enjoined it should be broke to pieces, be* 
cause they were too fond and doating upon it.^^ Yes, the 
very groves themselves, however pleasant for situation, 
beautiful for their walks and trees, must be cut down ; 
and why ? only because they had been abused to idola- 
trous uses. And what is an idol, but that which the 
mind puts an over-estimate or value upon ? None can 
benefit themselves so much by an indifferent thing, as 
others by not using that abused liberty,. 

Sect. 5. If those things were convenient in themselves, 
which is a step nearer necessity than mere indifferency, 
yet when by circumstances they become prejudicial, 
such conveniency itself ought to be given up ; much 
more what is but indifferent should be denied. People 
ought not to weigh their private satisfactions more than 
a public good ; nor please themselves in too free an 

^ Rom. xiv. to the end. «= Gen. iv. 9- "* 2 Kings xviii. 3, 4- 

Ff 



220 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

use of indifferent things, at the cost of being so really 
prejudicial to the public, as they certainly are, whose 
use of them, if no worse, becomes exemplary to others, 
and begets an impatiency in their minds to have the like.* 
Wherefore it is both reasonable and incumbent on all, 
to make only such things necessary, as tend to life and 
godliness, and to employ their freedom with most ad- 
vantage to their neighbours J So that here is a two-fold 
obligation ; the one, not to be exemplary in the use of 
such things ; which, though they may use them, yet 
not without giving too much countenance to the abuse 
and excessive vanity of their neighbours. The other 
obligation is, that they ought so far to condescend to 
such religious people who are offended at these fashions, 
and that kind of conversation, as to reject them. 

Sect. 6 Now^ those, who notwithstanding what I have 
urged will yet proceed ; what is it, but that they have 
so involved themselves and their affections in them, that 
It is hardly possible to reform them ; and that, for all 
their many protestations against their fondness to such 
fopperies, they really love them more than Christ and 
his cross ? Such cannot seek the good of others, who do 
so little respect their own. For, after a serious con- 
sideration, what vanity, pride, idleness, expense of 
time and estates, have been, and yet are ? how many 
persons debauched from their first sobriety, and women 
from their natural sweetness and innocency, to Ipose, 
airy, wanton, and many times more enormous prac- 
tices ? how many plentiful estates have been over-run 
by numerous debts, chastity ensnared by accursed lust- 
ful intrigues ? youthful health overtaken by the hasty 
seizure of unnatural distempers, and the remaining days 
of such spent upon a rack of their vices procuring, and 
so made slaves to the unmerciful but necessary effects of 
their own inordinate pleasures ? in which agony they 
vow the greatest temperance : but are no sooner out of 
it, than in their vice again.^ 

« Psal X. 3. 4. f 2 Pet. i. 3. Eph. v.7. e Rom. xiv. 1. to the end, 

!^ Lam. iv. 5.Prov.xxl. IT. Job xxi. 13, 14. Psal. Iv. 23. Psul.xxxvii. 10. EccL 
tiii. 12. Psal. xxxvii. 1, 2. Prov. ii. 22. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 221 

Sect. 7. That these things are the case, and almost 
innumerable more, I am persuaded no ingenuous person 
of any experience will deny ; how then, upon a serious 
reflection, any that pretend conscience, or the fear of 
God Almighty, can longer continue in the garb, livery, 
and conversation of those whose whole life tends to little 
else than what I have repeated, much less join with 
them in their abominable excess,. I leave to the Just 
Principle in themselves to judge. No surely ! this is 
not to obey the voice of God, who in all ages did loudly 
cry to all, " Come out, of what ? of the ways, fashions, 
converse and spirit of Babylon ?" What is that? the 
great city of all these vain, foolish, wanton, superfluous, 
and wicked practices, against which the scriptures de- 
nounce most dreadful judgments ; ascribing all the in- 
temperance of men and women to the cup of wickedness 
she hath given them to drink ; whose are the things 
indifferent, if they must be so.^ And for witness, hear 
what the revelations say in her description : *' How 
much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so 
much torment and sorrow give her. And the kings of 
the earth, who have lived deliciously with her, shall be- 
wail and lament her ; and the merchants of the earth 
shall weep over her ; for no man buyeth their merchan- 
dise any more : the merchandise of gold and silver, and 
precious stones? and of pearls, and fine linen, and pur- 
ple, and silk, and scarlet, and all manner of vessels of 
ivory, and all maaner of vessels of most precious wood ; 
and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankin- 
cense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and beasts, and 
slaves, and souls of men.' *^ Behold the character and 
judgment of luxury ; and though I know it hatha farther 
sigiiification than what is literal, yet there is enough to 
shovs^ the pomp, plenty, fulness, idleness, ease, wanton- 
ness, vanity, lust and excess of luxury that reign in her. 
But at the terrible day who will go to her exchange any 
more ? who to her plays ? who will follow her fashions 
then ? and who shall traffic in her delicate invention^ ? 

i Jer. xvi. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 

k Isa. iii. 13 to 16. Jer. 1. 8. ch. xv. 6, 7. Amos vi. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 

1 Rev. xviii. 7, 8, 12, 13- '■ 



222 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

Not one ; for she shall be judged. No plea shall excuse, 
or rescue her from the wrath of the judge ; for strong 
is the Lord who will perform it.*" If yet these reasona- 
ble pleas will not prevail, however I shall caution such, 
in the repetition of part of Babylon's miserable doom : 
Mind, my friends, more heavenly things ; hasten to 
obey that Righteous Principle, which would exercise 
and delight you in that which is eternal ; or else with 
Babylon, the mother of lust and vanity, the fruits which 
your souls lust after shall depart from you, and all things 
which are dainty and goodly shall depart from you, and 
you shall find them no more !" O Dives ! no more ! Lay 
your treasures therefore up in heaven, O ye inhabitants 
of the earth, where nothing can break through to harm 
them ; but where time shall shortly be swallowed up of 
eternity i" 

Sect. 8. But my arguments against these things end 
not here ; for the contrary most of all conduces to good, 
namely, " temperance in food, plainness in apparel ; 
with a meek, shame-faced, and quiet spirit, and that 
^onversatiqn which doth only express the same in all 
godly honesty :" as the apostle saith, " Let no corrupt 
communication proceed out of your mouth, but that 
which is good to the use of edifying, that it may admin- 
ister grace to the hearers ; neither filthiness, nor foolish 
talking, nor jesting, but rather giving of thanks : for 
let no man deceive you with vain word^s, because of these 
things Cometh the wrath of God upon the children of 
disobedience. '*p And if men and women were but thus 
adorned, after this truly Christian manner, impudence 
would soon receive a check, and lust, pride, vanity, and 
wantonness, find a rebuke. They would not be able to 
attempt such universal chastity, or encounter such godly 
austerity : virtue would be in credit, and vice afraid and 
ashamed, and excess not dare to shew its face. There 

m Rev. xviii. 8. " Ver. 14. " Luke xii. 33.54. 

* P Col. iv. 5, 6. i Tliess. iv. 11, 12. 1 Pet. ill. 1, 2, 3, 4. Eph. iv, 29. and v. 3, 4, 
5, 6. 1 Tim. iv. 12. P .1) iii. 16 to 20. 1 Pet. ii. 12. Prov. xxxi, 23 to 31.2 Chr. 
i^iii. 7. Prov. xxiv. 23, James ii. 2 to 9. Luke xii. 22, 30. 1 Tim. iv. 2 Pet. iii. 
|1. Psal. ^xvi. 6. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 225 

would be an end of gluttony, and gaudiness of apparel, 
flattering titles, and a luxurious life ; and then primitive 
innocency and plainness would come back again, and 
that plain-hearted downright harmless life would be re- 
stored, of not much caring whai we should eat, drink, 
or put on, as Christ tells us the Gentiles did, and as we 
know this age daily does, under all its talk of religion : 
but as the ancients, who with moderate care for neces- 
saries and conveniences of life, devoted themselves to the 
concernments of a celestial kingdom, more minded their 
improvement in righteousness, than their increase in 
riches ; for they laid their treasure up in heaven, and 
endured tribulation for an inheritance that cannot be 
taken away.'i 

Sect. 9. But the temperance I plead for, is not only 
religiously, but politically good : it is the interest of 
good government to curb and rebuke excesses : it pre- 
vents many mischiefs ; luxury brings effeminacy, lazi- 
ness, poverty, and misery; but temperance preserves the 
land/ It keeps out foreign vanities, and improves our 
own commodities : now we are their debtors, then 
they would be debtors to us for our native manufac- 
tures. By this means, such persons, who by their ex- 
cess, not charity, have deeply engaged their estates, 
may in a short space be enabled to clear them from those 
incumbrances, which otherwise, like moths, soon eat out 
plentiful revenues.' It helps persons of mean substance 
to improve their small stocks, that they may not ex- 
pend their dear earnings and hard-got wages upon 
superfluous apparel, foolish may-games, plays, dancing, 
shews, taverns, ale-houses, and the like folly and intem- 
perance ; with which this land is more infested, and by 
which it is rendered more ridiculous, than any kingdom 
in the world : for none I know of is so infested with 
cheating mountebanks, savage morrice-dancers, pick- 
pockets, and profane players, and stagers ; to the slight 
of religion, the shame of government, and the great idle- 

5 Matt. xxv. 21. » Prov. 3. 4. « Eccl. x. 16, 17, 18, 



224 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part I. 

ness, expense, and debauchery of the people : for which 
the spirit of the Lord is grieved, and the judgments of 
the Almighty are at the door, and the sentence ready 
to be pronounced, " Let him that is unjust, be unjust 
still.''' Wherefore it is, that we cannot but loudly 
call upon the generality of the times, and testify both by 
our life and doctrine, against the like vanities and 
abuses, if possible any may be weaned from their folly, 
and choose the good old path of temperance, wisdom, 
gravity, and hoUness, the only way to inherit the bles- 
sings of peace and plenty here, and eternal happiness 
hereafter.'' 

Sect. 10. Lastly, supposing we had none of these 
foregoing reasons justly to reprove the practice of the 
land in these particu ars ; however, let it be sufficient 
for us to say, that when people have first learned to fear, 
worship, and obey their Creator, to pay their numerous 
vitious debts, to alleviate and abate their oppressed ten- 
ants ; but above all outward regards, when the pale 
faces are more commiserated, the pinched bellies reliev- 
ed, and naked backs clothed ; when the famished poor, 
the distressed widow, and helpless orphan, God's works, 
and your fellow creatures, are provided for ! then I say, 
if then, it will be time enough for you to plead the in- 
difFerency of your pleasures. But that the sweat and 
tedious labour of the husbandmen, early and late, cold 
and hot, wet and dry, should be converted into the plea- 
sure, ease, and pastime of a small number of men ; that 
the cart, the plough, the thresh, should be in that con- 
tinnal severity laid upon nineteen parts of the land to feed 
the inordinate lusts and delicious appetites of the twen- 
tieth, is so far from the appointment of the great Go- 
vernor of the world, and God of the spirits of all flesh, 
that to imagine such horrible injustice as the effects of 
his determinations, and not the intemperance of men, 
were wretched and blasphemous. As on the other side, 
it would be to deserve no pity, no help, no relief from 

t Rev. xxii. 11. ' " ProT. sxi. 4, 29. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 225 

God Almighty, for people to continue that expense in 
vanity and pleasure, whilst the great necessities of such 
objects go unanswered : especially since God hath made 
the sons of men but stewards to each other's exigencies 
and relief. Yea, so strict is it enjoined, that on the 
omission of these things, we find this dreadful sentence 
partly to be grounded, '' Depart from me, ye cursed, into 
everlasting fire," Sec. As on the contrary, to visit the 
sick, see the imprisoned, relieve the needy, &c. are such 
excellent properties in Christ's account, that thereupon 
he will pronounce such blessed, saying, '^ Come, ye bles- 
sed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you", &c. So that the great are not, with the Levia- 
than in the deep, to prey upon the small, much less to 
make a sport of the lives and labours of the lesser ones, 
to gratify their inordinate senses/'' 

Sect. 11. I therefore humbly offer an address to the 
serious consideration of the civil magistrate. That if the 
money which is expended in every parish in such vain 
fashions, as wearing of laces, jewels, embroideries, un- 
necessary ribands, trimming, costly furniture, and at- 
tendance, together with what is commonly consumed 
in taverns, feasts, gaming, &c. could be collected into 
a public stock, or something in lieu of this extravagant 
and fruitless expense, there might be reparation to the 
broken tenants, work-houses for the able, and alms- 
houses for the aged and impotent.'' Then should we 
have no beggars in the land, the cry of the widow and 
the orphan would cease, and charitable reliefs might 
easily be afforded towards the redemption of poor cap- 
tives, and refreshment of such distressed Protestants as 
labour under the miseries of persecution in other coun- 
tries : nay, the exchequer's needs, on just emergencies, 
might be supplied by such a bank : this sacrifice and 

w Eccl. xii. 1. Psal. xxxvii. 21. Psal. x. 2. Psal. iv. 2. Psal. Ixsix. 1?. 
Psal.lxxxii.3, 4. Prov. xxii. 7. Isa. iii. 14, 15. Ezek, xxii. 29. Amos v. 11, 12. 
ch. viii. 4, 7, 8. Isa. i. 16, 17, 18. Jer. vii. 6. Rom. xii. 20. 2 Cor. ix. 7. 
Psal. xl. 4. Acts X. 34. Rom. ii. 11. Eph. vi. 9. Col. iii. 25. 1 Pet. i. 17. 
Jam. V. 4, 5. Psal. xU. 1. Matt. xxy,34, 25, 36. Jam. li. 15, 16. P.vil. cxii. 9. 

■'^ Prov, xiv. 21. Matt. xix. 21. 



226 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part L 

service would please the just and merciful God : it 
would be a noble example of gravity and temperance to 
foreign states, and an unspeakable benefit to ourselves 
at home. 

Alas ! why should men need persuasions to what their 
own felicity so necessarily leads them to ? had those 
vitiosos of the times but a sense of heathen Cato's gene- 
rosity, they would rather deny their carnal appetites, 
than leave such noble enterprises unattempted. But 
that they should eat, drink, play, game, and sport away 
their health, estates, and above all, their irrevocable pre- 
cious time, which should be dedicated to the Lord, as a 
necessary introduction to a blessed eternity, and than 
which, did they but know it, no worldly solace could 
come in competition ; I say, that they should be con- 
tinually employed about these poor, low things, is to 
have the Heathens judge them in God's day, as well as 
Christian precepts and examples condemn them. And 
their final doom will prove the more astonishing, in that 
this vanity and excess are acted under a profession of the 
self-denying religion of Jesus, whose life and doctrine 
are a perpetual reproach to the most of Christians. Forhe 
(blessed man) was humble, but they are proud ; he for- 
giving, they revengeful ; he meek, they fierce , he plain, 
they gaudy ; he abstemious, they luxurious ; he chaste, 
they lascivious ; he a pilgrim on earth, they citizens of the 
world : in fine, he was meanly born, poorly attended, 
and obscurely brought up : he lived despised, and died 
hated of the men of his own nation. O you pretended 
followers of this crucified Jesus ! " examine yourselves ; 
try yourselves ; know you not your own selves, if he 
dwell not (if he rule not) in you, that you are repro- 
bates ?"y be ye not deceived, for God will not be mock- 
ed (at last with forced repentances) ; such as you sow, 
(such you must) reap in God's day."' I beseech you 
hear me, and remember you were invited and intreated to 
the salvation of God. I say, as you sow you reap : if 
you are enemies to the cross oi Christ, and you are so, 

y 2 Cor. xiii, 5, ^ Gal. vi. T, 8. 



Part I. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 227 

if you will not bear it, but do as you list, and not as you 
ought, if you are uncircumcised in heart and ear ; and 
you are so, if you will not hear and open to him that 
knocks at the door within ; and if you resist and quench 
the Spirit in yourselves, that strives with you to bring 
you to God, and that you certainly do, who rebel against 
its motions, reproofs and instructions, then *' you sow 
to the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof, and of the flesh 
will you reap the fruits of corruption, wo, anguish, and 
tribulation, from God the judge of quick and dead, by 
Jesus Christ. "=* But if you will daily bear the holy cross 
of Christ, and sow to the Spirit ; if you will listen to the 
.light and grace that comes by Jesus, and which he has 
given to all people for salvation, and square your 
thoughts, words, and deeds thereby, which leads and 
tCciches the lovers of it to deny all ungodliness and the 
world's lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly 
in this present evil world, then may you with confi- 
dence look for the blessed " hope, and joyful coming, 
and glorious appearance of the great God, and our Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ.'"* Let it be so, O you Christians, 
and escape the wrath to come ! why will you die ? let 
the time past suffice : remember that No Cross, No 
Crown. *' Redeem then the time, for the days are evil, 
and yours but very few. Therefore gird up the loins of 
your minds, be sober, fear, watch, pray, and endure to the 
end;"c calling to mind, for your encouragement and 
consolation ; that all such, as " through patience and 
well doing wait for immortality, shall reap glory, ho- 
nour, and eternal life, in the kingdom of the Father ; 
whose is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for 
ever."^^ Amen. 

^ Rom. ii. a b Tit. iii. 11, 12, 13. ^ Eph. v. 16. ^ Rom. ii. 7, 9. 



G g 



P^RT II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 233 



CHAP. XIX. 



The testimonies of several great^ learned^ and virtuous person^ 
ages among the Gentiles^ urged against the excesses of the 
age^ in favour of the self denial^ temperance^ and pietif herein 
recommended^ 

L Among the Greeks, viz. Sect. 1. Of Cyrus. 2. Artaxerxes. 
3. Agathocles. 4, Philip. 5. Alexander. 6. Ptolemy. T. 
Zenophanes. 8. Antigonus. 9. Themistocles. 10. Aris- 
tides. 11* Pericles. 12. Phocion. 13. Clitomachus. 14. 
Epaminondas. 15. Demosthenes. 16. Agasicles. 17. Age- 
silaus. 18. Agis. 19. Alcamenes. 20. Alexandridas. 21. 
Anaxilas. 22. Ariston. 23. Archidamus. 24. Cleomenes. 
25. Dersyllidas. 26. Hippodamus. 27. Leonidas. 28. 
Lysander. 29. Pausanias. 30. Theopompus, &c. 31. The 
manner of life and government of the Lacedaemonians in 
general. 32. Lycurgus their lawgiver. II. Among the Ro* 
mans, viz. 33. Of Cato. 34. Scipio Africanus. 35. Au- 
gustus, 36. Tiberius. 37. Vespasian. 38. Trajan. 39. 
Adrian. 40. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. 41. Pertinax. 
42. Pescennius. 43. Alexander Severus. 44. Aurelianus. 
45. Dioclesian. 46. Julian. 47. Theodosius. III. The lives 
and doctrines of some of the Heathen philosophers among the 
Greeks and Romans, viz. 48. Thales. 49. Pythagoras. 
50. Solon, 51. Chilon. 52. Periander. 53. Bias. 54. 
Cleobulus. 55, Pittacus. 56. Hippias. 57. The Gym- 
nosophistse. 58. The Bamburacii. 59. Gynaecosmi. 60. 
Anacharsis, 61. Anaxagoras. 62. Heraclitus. 6Z. De- 
mocritus. 64. Socrates. 65. Plato. 66. Antisthenes. 67. 
Zenocrates. 68. Bion. 69. Demonax. 70. Diogenes. 71. 



^M NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

Crates. 72. Aristotle. 73. Mandanis. 74. Zeno. 75. 
Quintllian. 76. Seneca. 77. Epictetus. IV. Of virtuous 
Heathen women, viz. 78. Penelope. 79. Theoxena. 80, 
Pandora and Protagena. 81. Hipparchia. 82. Lucretia. 
83. Cornelia. 84. Pontia. 85. Arria. 86. Pompeja 
Plautina. 87. Plotina. 88. Pompeja Paulina. 89. A re- 
proof to voluptuous women of the times. 

Sect. 1. v^YRUS, than whom a greater monarch 
we hardly find in story, is more famous for his virtue 
than his power ; and indeed it was that which gave him 
power. God calls him his shepherd : now let us see the 
principles of his conduct and life. So temperate was he 
in his youth, that when Astyages urged him to drink 
wine, he answered, I am afraid lest there should be poi- 
son in it ; having seen thee reel and sottish after having 
drunk thereof. And so careful was he to keep the 
Persians from corruption of manners, that he would not 
suffer them to leave their rude and mountainous coun- 
try, for one more pleasant and fruitful, lest through 
plenty and ease, luxury at last might debase their spi- 
rits. And so very chaste was he, that having taken a 
lady of quality, a most beautiful woman, his prisoner, 
he refused to see her, saying, I have no mind to be a cap- 
tive to my captive. It seems, he claimed no such pro- 
priety, but shunned the occasion of evil. The comp- 
troller of his household asking him one day, what he 
would please to have for his dinner ? Bread, said he ; for I 
intend to encamp nigh the water : a short and easy bill 
of fare : but this shews the power he had over his ap- 
petite as well as his soldiers ; and that he was fit to 
command others, that could command himself; accord- 
ing to another saying of his. No man,.saith he, is wor- 
thy to command, who is not better than those who 
are to obey : and when he came to die, he gave this 
reason of his belief of immortality, I cannot, said he, 
persuade myself to think, that the soul of man, after ha- 
ving sustained itself in a mortal body, should perish when 
delivered out of it, for want of it : a saying of perhaps 



PREFACE. 



NO Cross, no Crown should have ended here ; 
but that the power, examples and authorities have put 
upon the minds of people, above the most reasonable 
and pressing arguments, inclined me to present my read- 
ers with some of those many instances that might be 
given, in favour of the virtuous life recommended in 
our discourse. I chose to cast them into three sorts of 
testimonies, not after the threefold subject of the book, 
but suitable to the times, qualities, and circumstances 
of the persons that gave them forth ; whose divers ex- 
cellencies and stations have transmitted their names with 
reputation to our own times. The first testimony comes 
from those called Heathens, the second from Professed 
Christians, and the last from Retired, Aged, and Dy- 
ing Men ; being their last and serious reflections, 
to which no ostentation or worldly interests could in- 
duce them. Where it will be easy for the considerate 
reader to observe how much the pride, avarice, and 
luxury of the world, stood reprehended in the judgments 
of persons of great credit amongst men ; and what was 
that life and conduct, that in their most retired medita-^ 
tions, when their sight was clearest, and judgment most 
free and disabused, they thought would give peace here, 
and lay foundations of eternal blessedness. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 235 

as great weight, as may be advanced against atheism 
from more enlightened times. 

Sect. 2. Artaxerxes Mnemon, being upon an 
extraordinary occasion reduced to eat barley bread 
and "dried figs, and drink water ; What pleasure, saith 
he, have I lost till now, through my delicacies and ex- 
cess ! 

Sect. 3. Agathocles becoming king of Sicily, from 
being the son of a potter, always, to humble his mind 
to his original, would be daily served in earthen ves- 
sels upon his table : an example of humility and plain- 
ness. 

Sect. 4. Philip king of Macedon, upon three sorts 
of good news arriving in one day, feared too much suc- 
cess might transport him immoderately ; and therefore 
prayed for some disappointments to season his prospe- 
rity, and caution his mind under the enjoyment of it. He 
refused to oppress the Greeks with his garrisons, saying, 
I had rather retain them by kindness, than fear ; and to 
be always beloved, than for a while terrible. One of his 
minions persuading him to decline hearing of a cause, 
wherein a particular friend was interested ; I had much 
rather, says he, thy friend should lose his cause, than I 
my reputation. Seeing his son Alexander endeavour to 
gain the hearts of the Macedonians by gifts and rewards, 
Canst thou believe, says he. that a man that thou hast 
corrupted to thy interests will ever be true to them ? 
When his court would have had him quarrel and correct 
the Peloponnenses for their ingratitude to him, he said. By 
no means ; for if they despise and abuse mCj after being 
kind to them, what will they do if I do them harm ? A 
great example of patience in a king, and wittily said. 
Like to this was his reply to the ambassadors of Athens, 
whom asking after audience. If he could do them any 
service, and one of them surlily answering, The best 
thou canst do us is, to hang thyself; he was nothing dis- 
turbed, though his court murmured ; but calmly said 

Hh 



'236 NO CROSS, NO CROVv^N. Part II. 

to the ambassador. Those who suffer injuries, are better 
people than those that do them. To conclude with him, 
being one day fallen along the ground, and seeing him. 
self in that posture, he cried out, What a small spot of 
earth do we take up ! and yet the whole world cannot 
content us. 

Sect. 5. Alexander was very temperate and virtu- 
ous in his youth : a certain governor having written to 
him, that a merchant of the place had several fine boys 
to sell, he returned him this answer with great indigna- 
tion. What hast thou seen in any act of my life, that 
should put thee upon such a message as this ? and 
voided the v/oman his courtiers flung in his way to de- 
bauch him* Nay, he would not see the wife of Darius, 
lamed for the most beautiful princess of the age ; which 
with his other virtues, made Darius (the last Persian 
king) to say, If God has determined to take my empire 
from me, I wish it into the hands of Alexander, my vir- 
tuous enemy. He hated covetousness ; for though he 
left great conquests, he left no riches ; which made him 
thus to answer one that asked him dying, Where he had 
hid his treasures ? Among my friends, says he. He was 
w^ontto say. He owed more to his master for his educa- 
tion, than to his father for his birth ; by how much it 
was less to live, than to live well. 

Sect. 6. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, being reproached 
for his mean original, and his friends, angry that he did 
not resent it ; we ought, says he, to bear reproaches pa- 
tiently. 

Sect. 7. Xenophanes being jeered for refusing to 
play at a forbidden gam^, answered, I do not fear my 
money., but my reputation : they that make laws, must 
keep them. A commendable saying. 

Sect. 8. Antigonus being taken sick, he said. It 
was a warning from God to instruct him of his mortali- 
ty. A poet flattering him with the title of the Son of God ; 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 237 

he answered, My servant knows the contrary. Another 
sycophant telling him, that the will of kings is the rule of 
justice : No, saith he, rather justice is the rule of the 
will of kings. And being pressed by his minions to 
put a garrison into Athens, to hold the Greeks in sub- 
jection, he answered, He had not a stronger garrison 
than the affections of his people. 

Sect. 9. Themistocles, after all the honour of his 
life, sits down with this conclusion, That the way to the 
grave is more desirable than the way to worldly honours. 
His daughter being courted by one of little wit and 
great wealth, and another of little wealth and great good- 
ness ; he chose the poor man for his son-in-law ; For, 
saith he, I will rather have a man without money, than 
money without a man ; reckoning that not money, but 
worth, makes the man. Being told by Symmachus, 
that he would teach him the art of memory ; he gravely 
answered, He had rather learn the art of forgetfolness ; 
adding, He could remember enough, but many things he 
could not forget, which were necessary to be forgotten ; 
as the honours, glories, pleasures and conquests he had 
spent his days in, too apt to transport to vain rlory. 

Sect. 10. Aristides, a wise and just Greek, of 
greatest honour and trust with the Athenians ; he was a 
great enemy to cabals in government : the reason he 
renders is. Because, saith he, I would not be obliged to 
authorize injustice. He so much hated covetousness, 
though he was thrice chosen treasurer of Athens, that he 
lived and died poor, and that of choice : for being there- 
fore reproached by a rich usurer, he answered, Thy 
riches hurt thee, more than my poverty hurts me. Being 
once banished by a contrary faction in the state, he 
prayed to God, that the affairs of his country might 
go so well, as never to need his return ; which how- 
ever caused him presently to be recalled. Whereupon 
he told them, That he was not troubled for his exile with 
respect to himself, but the honour of his country. The- 
mistocles, their general, had a project to propose to 



238 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II, 

render Athens mistress of Greece, but it required se- 
crecy : the people obliged him to communicate it to 
Aristides, whose judgment they would follow. Aristides 
having privately heard it from Themistocles, publicly 
answered to the people, True, there was nothing more 
advantageous, nor nothing more unjust : w^hich quashed 
the project. 

Sect. 11. Pericles, as he mounted the tribunal, 
prayed to God, that not a word might fall from him that 
might scandalize the people, wrong the public aiFairs, or 
hurt his own. One of his friends praying him to speak 
falsely in his favour. We are friends, saith he, but not 
beyond the altar ; meaning not against religion and 
truth. Sophocles, being his companion, upon sight of 
a beautiful woman, said to Pericles, Ah, what a lovely 
creature is that ! to whom Pericles replied, it becometh 
a magistrate not only to have his hands clean, but his 
tongue and eyes also. 

Sect. 12. Phoci ON, a famous Athenian, was honest 
and poor, yea, he contemned riches : for a certain go- 
vernor making rich presents, he returned them ; saying, 
I refused Alexander's. And when several persuaded 
him to accept of such bounty, or else his children would 
want, he answered, If my son be virtuous, I shall leave 
him enough ; and if he be vitious, more would be too 
little. He rebuked the excess of the Athenians, and 
that openly, saying, He that eateth more than he ought, 
maketh more diseases than he can cure. To condemn 
or flatter him was to him alike. Demosthenes telling 
him. Whenever the people were enraged, they would 
kill him ; he answered, and thee also, when they are 
come to their wits. He said. An orator was like a cy- 
press tree, fair and great, but fruitless. Antipater, pres- 
sing him to submit to his sense, he answered. Thou 
canst not have me for a friend and flatterer too. Seeing 
a man in office to speak much, and do little, he asked, 
How can that man do business, that is already drunk 
with talking? After all the great services of his life, he 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 239 

was unjustly condemned to die ; and going to the place 
of execution, lamented of the people, one of his enemies 
spit in his face ; he took it without any disorder of mind, 
only saying, Take him away. Before execution, his 
friends asked him, Whether he had nothing to say to his 
son ? Yes, said he, let him not hate my enemies, nor 
revenge my death : I see it is better to sleep upon the 
earth with peace, than with trouble upon the softest 
bed : that he ought to do that which is his duty, and 
what is more is vanity : that he must not carry two 
faces : that he promise little, but keep his promises : 
the world dues the contrary. 

Sect. 13. Clitomachus had so great a love to vir- 
tue, and practised it with such exactness, that if at any 
time in company he heard wanton or obscene discourse, 
he was wont to quit the place. 

Sect. 14. Epaminondas being invited to a sacrifi- 
cial feast, so soon as he had entered he withdrew, be- 
cause of the sumptuous furniture and attire of the place 
and people ; saying, I was called at Leuctra to a sacrifice, 
but I find it is a debauch. The day after the great bat- 
tle which he obtained upon his enemies, he seemed sad 
and solitary, which was not his ordinary temper ; and 
being asked why ? answered, I would moderate the joy 
of yesterday's triumphs. A Thessalian general, and 
his colleague in a certain enterprise, knowing his 
poverty, sent him two thousand crowns to defray his 
part of the charges ; but he seemed angry, and an- 
swered, This looks like corrupting me ; contenting 
himself with less than five pounds, which he borrowed 
of one of his friends for that service. The same mo^ 
deration made him refuse the presents of the Persian 
emperor, saying. They were needless, if he only desired 
of him what was just ; if more, he was not rich enough 
to corrupt him. Seeing a rich man refuse to lend one 
of his friends money that was in affliction ; he said, 
Art not thou ashamed to refuse to help a good man in 
necessity ? After he had freed Greece from trouble, and 



240 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

made the Thebans his countrymen triumph over the 
Lacedaemonians, till then invincible, that ungrateful 
people arraigned him and his friends, under pretence of 
acting something without authority ; he, as general, 
took the blame upon himself, justified the action both 
from necessity and success, arraigning his judges for 
ingratitude, whilst himself was at the bar ; which caused 
them to withdraw with fallen countenances, and hearts 
smitten with guilt and fear. To conclude, he was a 
man of great truth and patience, as well as wisdom and 
courage ; for he was never observed to lie, in earnest or 
in jest. And notwithstanding the ill and cross humours 
of the Thebans, aggravated by his incomparable ha- 
zards and services for their freedom and renown, it is 
reported of him, that he ever bore them patiently ; of- 
ten saying. That he ought no more to be revenged of 
his country, than of his father. And being wounded to 
death in the battle of Mantinea, he advised his country- 
men to make peace, none being fit to command : which 
proved true. He would not suffer them to pull the 
sword out of his body, till he knew he had gained the 
victory ; and then he ended his days with this expres- 
sion in his mouth, I die contentedly, for it is in defence 
of my country ; and I am sure I shall live in the eternal 
memory of good men. This, for a Gentile and a gene- 
ral, hath matter of praise and example in it. 

Sect. 15. Demosthenes, the great orator of Athens, 
had these sentences : That wise men speak little ; and 
that therefore nature hath given men two ears and one 
tongue to hear more than they speak. .To one that 
spoke much he said. How cometh it, that he who taught 
thee to speak, did not teach thee to hold thy tongue ? 
He said of a covetous man, That he knew not how to 
live all his life-time, and that he left it for another to live 
after he was dead. That it was an easy thing to de- 
ceive one's self, because it was easy to persuade one^s 
self to what one desired. He said. That calumnies were 
easily received, but time would always' discover them. 
That there was nothing more uneasy to good men, than 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 241 

not to have the liberty of speaking freely : and that if 
one knew what one had to suffer from the people, one 
would never meddle to govern them. In fine, That 
man's happiness was to be like God ; and to resemble 
him, we must love truth and justice. 

Sect. 16. Agasicles, king of the Lacedaemonians, 
or Spartans, which are one, was of the opinion, That it 
was better to govern without force : And, says he, the 
means to do it, is to govern the people as a father gov- 
erns his children. 

Sect. 17. Agesilaus, king of the same people, 
would say, That he had rather be master of himself, than 
of the greatest city of his enemies ; and to preserve his 
own liberty, than to usurp the liberty of another man. 
A prince, says he, ought to distinguish himself from his 
subjects by his virtue, and not by his state or delicacy 
of life. Wherefore he wore plain, simple clothing ; 
his table was as moderate, and his bed as hard, as that 
of any ordinary subject. And when he was told, that 
one time or other he would be obliged to change his 
fashion ; No, saith he, I am not given to change, even 
in a change : and this I do, saith he, to remove from 
young men any pretence of luxury ; that they may see 
their prince practise what he counsels them to do. He 
added, that the foundation of the Lacedaemonian laws 
was, to despise luxury, and to reward with liberty : 
Nor, saith he, should good men put a value upon that 
which mean and base souls make their delight. Being 
flattered by some with divine honour, he asked them, 
If they could not make gods too ? If they could, why 
did they not begin with themselves ? — The same austere 
conduct of life made him refuse to have his statue erected 
in the cities of Asia : nor would he suffer his picture to 
be taken ; and his reason is good : For, saith he, the 
fairest portraiture of men is their own actions. — What- 
soever was to be suddenly done in the government, he 
was sure to set his hand first to the work, like a com- 
mon person. He would say, It did not become men to 



242 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part It. 

make provision to be rich, but to be good. Being 
asked the means to true happiness, he answered, To do 
nothing that should make a man fear to die : another 
time. To speak well, and do well. Being called home by 
the Ephori, or supreme magistrates, the way of the 
Spartan constitution, he returned ; saying, It is not less 
the duty of a prince to obey laws, than to command men. 
He conferred places of trust and honour upon his ene- 
mies, that he might constrain their hatred into love. A 
lawyer asked him for a letter to make a person judge, 
that was of his own friends : My friends, says he, have 
no need of a recommendation to do justice. — A come- 
dian of note wondering that Agesilaus said nothing to 
him, asked, if he knew him ? Yes, saith he, I know 
thee ; art not thou the buffoon Callipedes ? One call- 
ing the king of Persia the great king, he answered. He 
is not greater than I, unless he hath more virtue than I. 
— One of his friends catching him playing with his 
children, he prevented him thus : Say nothing, till thou 
art a father too. — He had great care of the education 
of youth ; often saying. We must teach children what 
they shall do when they arc men. The Egyptians des- 
pising him because he had but a small train and a 
mean equipage ; Oh, saith he, I will have them to 
know, royalty consists not in vain pomp, but in vir- 
tue. 

Sect. 18. Agis, another king of Lacedasmonia, im- 
prisoned for endeavouring to restore their declining dis- 
cipline, being asked, whether he repented not of his 
design ? answered, No ; for, saith he, good actions ne- 
ver need repentance. His father and mother desiring of 
him to grant something he thought unjust, he answered, 
I obeyed you when 1 was young ; I must now obey the 
laws, and do that which is reasonable. — As he was 
leading to the place of execution, one of his people 
wept ; to whom he said. Weep not for me ; for the au- 
thors of this unjust death are more in fault than I. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 24^^, 

Sect. 19. Alcamenes, king of the same people, be- 
ing asked, which was the way to get and preserve ho- 
nour ? answered. To despise wealth. Another wonder- 
ing why he refused the presents of the Messenians, he 
answered, I make conscience to keep the laws that for- 
bid it. To a miser accusing him of being so reserved 
in his discourse, he said, 1 had rather conform to reason, 
than thy covetousness ; or, I had rather be covetous of 
my words than money. 

Sect. 20. Alexandridas hearing an exile com- 
plain of his banishment, saith he, Complain of the cause 
of it, to wit, his deserts ; for there is nothing hurtful but 
vice. Being asked, why they were so long in making 
the process of criminals in Lacedaemonia ? Because, saith 
he, when they are once dead they are past repentance. 
This shews their belief of immortality and eternal bles- 
sedness ; and that even poor criminals^ through repen- 
t ance, may obtain it. 

Sect. 21. Anaxilas would say. That the greatest ad- 
vantage kings had over other men, was their pdwet of 
excelling them in good deeds. 

Sect. 22. Ariston, hearing one admire this expres- 
sion, We ought to do good to our friends, and evil to 
our enemies ; answered. By no means, we ought to do 
good to all ; to keep our friends, and to gain our ene- 
mies. A doctrine the most difficult to flesh and bloody 
of all the precepts of Christ's sermon upon the mount : 
nay, not allowed to be his doctrine ; but both *' An eye 
for an eye ;" defended against his express command, 
and oftentimes an eye put out, an estate sequestered, 
and life taken away, under a specious zeal for religion 
too ; as if sin could be christened, and impiety entitled 
to the doctrine of Christ. Oh, will not such Heatheas 
rise up in judgment against our worldly ChristiarsS in the 
great day of God ! 

I *i 



244 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

Sect. 23. Archidamus, also king of Sparta, being 
asked, who was master of Lacedaemonia ? The laws, 
saith he, and after them the magistrates. — One praising 
a musician in his presence, Ah ! saith he, but when will 
you praise a good man ? — Another saying, That man is 
an excellent musician : That is all one, saith he, as if 
thou wouldst say, There is a good cook : counting 
both trades of voluptuousness.- — Another promising him 
some excellent wine : I care not, saith he, for it will on- 
ly put my mouth out of taste to my ordinary liquor ; 
which it seems was water.-^-Two m«n chose him an 
arbitrator ; to accept it, he made them promise to do 
what he would have them : Then, said he, stir not from 
this place till you have agreed the matter between your- 
selves ; which was done. — Dennis, king of Sicily, send- 
ing his daughters rich apparel, he forbad them to wear 
it, saying, You will seem to me but the more homely.-— 
This great man certainly was not of the mind to bring 
up his children at the exchanges, dancing schools, and 
play-houses. 

Sect. 24. Cleomenes, king of the same people, 
would say. That kings ought to be pleasant ; but not 
to cheapness and contempt. He w^as so just a man 
in power, that he drove away Demaratus, his fellow 
king, for they always had two, for offering to corrupt 
him in a cause before them, Lest, saith he, he should 
attempt others less able to resist him> and so ruin the 
state. 

Sect. 25. Dersyllidas perceiving that Pyrrhus 
would force a prince upon his countrymen the Lace- 
dcemonians, whom they lately ejected, stoutly opposed 
Mm, saying. If thou art God, we fear thee not, because 
we have done no evil ; and if thou art but a man, we 
are men too. 

Sect. 26. HippoDAMus, seeing a young man asham- 
ed, that was caught in bad company, he reproved him 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 24C» 

sharply, saying. For time to come keep such company 
as thou neeclest not blush at. 

Sect. 27. Leonidas, brother to Cleomenes, and a 
brave man, being offered by Xerxes to be made an em- 
peror of Greece, answered, 1 had rather die for my own 
country, than have an unjust command over other men's. 
Adding, Xerxes deceived himself, to think it a virtue 
to invade the right of other men. 

Sect. 28. Ly SANDER, being asked by a person, what 
was the best frame of government ? That, saith he, 
where every man hath according to his deserts. Though 
one of the greatest captains that Sparta bred, he had 
learned by his wisdom to bear personal affronts : Say 
what thou wilt, saith he, to one that spoke abusively to 
him, Empty thyself, I shall bear it. His daughters were 
contracted in marriage to some persons of quality : but 
he dying poor, they refused to marry them ; upon which 
the Ephori condemned each of them in a great sum of 
money, because they preferred money before faith and 
engagement. 

Sect. 29. Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, and 
colleague of Lysander, beholding among the Persian 
spoils they took, the costiliness of their furniture, said. 
It had been much better if they had been worth less., 
and their masters more. And after the victory of Pla- 
tea, having a dinner drest according to the Persian man- 
ner, and beholding the magnific<?nce and furniture of 
the treat; What, saith he, do these people mean, that 
live in such wealth and luxury, to attack our meanness 
and poverty f 

Sect. 30. Theopompus saith, The way to preserve 
a kingdom is, to embrace the counsel of one's friends, 
and not to suffer the meaner sort to be oppressed. One 
making the glory of Sparta to consist in commanding 
well, he answered. No, it is in knowing how to obey 
well. He was of opinion, That great honours hurt v 



246 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

state ; adding, That time would abolish great, and aug- 
ment moderate, honours among men ; meaning that men 
should have the reputation they deserve, without flattery 
and excess. 

A rhetorician bragging himself of his art, was re- 
proved by a Lacedaemonian, Dost thou call that an art, 
saith he, which hath not truth for its object ? Also a 
Lacedemonian being presented with an harp after din- 
ner by a musical person, I do not, saith he, know how 
to play the fool. Another being asked, What he 
thought of a poet of the times, answered. Good for no- 
thing but to corrupt youth. Nor was this only the 
wisdom and virtue of some particular persons, which 
maybe thought to have given light to the dark body 
of their courts ; but their government was wise and 
just, and the people generally obeyed it ; making virtue 
to be true honour, and that honour dearer to them than 
life. 

Sect. 3L Lacedemonian customs, according to 
Plutarch were these: *^They were very temperate in their 
eating and drinking, their most delicate dish being a 
pottage made for the nourishment of ancient people. 
They taught their children to write and read, to obey 
the magistrates, to endure labour, and to be bold in dan- 
ger : the teachers of other sciences were not so much 
as admitted in Lacedaemonia. They had but one gar- 
ment, and that new but once a year. They rarely used 
baths or oil, the custom of those parts of the world. 
Their youth lay in troops upon mats ; the boys and girls 
apart. They accustomed their youth to travel by night 
without light, to use them not to be afraid. The old 
governed the young ; and those of them who obeyed not 
the aged, were punished. It was a shame not to bear 
reproof among the youth ; and among the aged, matter 
of punishment not to give it. They made ordinary 
cheer, on purpose to keep out luxury ; holding, that 
mean fare kept the spirit free, and the body fit for ac- 
tion. The music they used was simple, without art of 
changings ; their songs composed of virtuous deeds of 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 247 

good men, and their harmony mixed with some reli- 
gious extasies, that seemed to carry their minds above 
the fear of death. They permitted not their youth to 
travel, lest they should corrupt their manners ; and for 
the same reason, they permitted not strangers to dwell 
amongst them, that conformed not to their way of liv- 
ing. In this they were so strict, that such of their 
youth that were not educated in their customs, enjoyed 
not the privileges of natives. They would suffer nei- 
ther comedies nor tragedies to be acted in their coun- 
try. They condemned a soldier but for painting his 
buckler of several colours : and publicly punished a 
young man, for having learnt but the way to a town 
given to luxury. They also banished an orator for brag- 
ging that he could speak a whole day upon any subject; 
for they did not like much speaking, much less for a 
bad cause. They buried their dead without any cere- 
mony or superstition ; for they only used a red cloth 
upon the body, broidered with olive leaves : this burial 
had all degrees. Mourning they forbad, and epitaphs 
too. When they prayed to God, they stretched forth 
their arms ; which with them, was a sign that they must 
do good works, as well as make good prayers. They 
asked of God but two things, patience in labour, and 
happiness in well-doing." 

This account is mostly the same with Xenophon's : 
adding, *' that they eat moderately and in common ; the 
youth mixed with the aged to awe them, and give them 
good example. That in walking, they would neither 
speak, nor turn their eyes aside, any more than if they 
were statues of marble. The men were bred bashful 
as well as the women, not speaking at meals, unless they 
were asked a question. When they were fifteen years 
of age, instead of leaving them to their own conduct, 
as in other places, they had most care of their conver- 
sation, that they might preserve them from the mis- 
chiefs that age is incident to. And those that would not 
comply with these rules, were not counted always ho~ 
nest people. And in this their government was ex- 
cellent : That they thought there was no greater punish- 



248 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

ment for a bad man, than to be known and used as such, 
at all times, and in all places : for they were not to come 
into the company of persons of reputation ; they were 
to give place to all others ; to stand when others sat ; to 
be accountable to every honest man that met them, of 
their conversation ; that they must keep their poor kin- 
dred ; that they used not die same freedoms that honest 
people might use : by which means they kept virtue in 
credit, and vice in contempt. They used all things ne- 
cessary for life, without superfluity, or want ; despising 
riches, and sumptuous apparel and living : judging, that 
the best ornament of the body is health ; and of the 
mind virtue. And since (saith Xenophon) it is virtue 
and temperance that render us commendable, and that it 
is only the Lacedaemonians that reverence it publicly, 
and have made it the foundation of their state ; their go- 
vernment, of right, merits preference to any other in the 
world. But that, saith he, which is strange, is, that all 
admire it, but none imitate it." Nor is this account 
and judgment fantastical. 

Sect. 32. Lycurgus, their famous founder and law- 
giver instilled these principles, and by his power with 
them made them laws to rule them. Let us hear what 
he did : Lycurgus, willing to reclaim his citizens from 
a luxurious to a virtuous life, and shew them how much 
good conduct and honest industry might meliorate the 
state of mankind, applied himself to introduce a new 
model of government, persuading them to believe, that 
though they were descended of noble and virtuous an- 
cestors, if they were not exercised in a course of vir- 
tue, they would, like the dog in the kitchen, rather leap 
at the meat, than run at the game. In fine, they agreed 
to obey him. The first thing then that he did, to try his 
power with them, was, to divide the land into equal 
portions, so that the whole Laconic country seemed but 
the lots of brethren. This grieved the rich ; but the 
poor, which were the most, rejoiced. He rendered 
wealth useless, by community ; and forbad the use of 
gold and silver : he made money of iron, too base and 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 249 

heavy to make a thief: he retrenched their laws of 
building, suffering no more ornament than could be 
made with a hatchet and a saw : and their furniture was 
like their houses. This course disbanded many trades; 
no merchant, no cook, no lawyer, no flatterer, no divine, 
no astrologer, was to be found in Lacedaemonia. In- 
justice was banished their society, having cut up the 
root of it, which is avarice, by introducing a communi- 
ty, and making gold and silver useless. To prevent the 
luxury of tables as wxU as of apparel, he ordained pub- 
lie places of eating, where all should publicly be served; 
those that refused to come thither were reputed volup- 
tuous, and reproved, if not corrected. He would have 
virgins labour, as well as young men, that their bodies 
being used to exercise might be the stronger and healthi- 
er, when married, to bring forth children. He forbad 
that they should have any portions, to the end that none 
might make suit to them for their wealth, but person and 
worth ; by which means the poor went off as well as 
the rich : and that their virtue might prefer them, they 
were denied to use any ornaments. He would not let 
the young people marry, till they arrived at the flower 
of their age, to the end, that their children might be 
strong and vigorous. Chastity was so general, and so 
much in request, that no law was made against adulte- 
ry; believing, that where luxury, and the arts lead- 
ing to it, were so severely forbid, it was needless. He 
forbad costly offerings in the temple, that they might 
offer often ; for that God regardeth the heart, not the 
offering. These, and some more, w^ere the laws he 
instituted ; and whilst the Spartans kept them, it is 
certain they were the first state of Greece, which last- 
ed aboui five hundred years. It is remarkable that he 
would never suffer the laws to be written, to avoid bar- 
ratry ; and that the jugdes might not be tied religiously 
to the letter of the law, but left to the circumstances 
of fact ; in which no inconvenience was observed to 
follow. 



250 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

11. The Romans also yield us instances to our point 
in hand. 

Sect. 33. Cato, that sage Roman, seeing a luxuri- 
ous man loaden with flesh, Of what service, saith he, 
can that man be, either to himself, or the common- 
wealth ? One day beholding the statues of several per- 
sons erecting, that he thought little worthy of remem- 
brance, that he might despise the pride of it, I had 
rather, said he, they should ask, why they set not up a 
statue to Cato, than why they do. He was a man of 
severity of life, both example and judge. His compe- 
titors in the government, hoping to be preferred, took 
the contrary humour, and mightily flattered the people : 
this good man despised their arts, and with an unusual 
fervency cried out. That the distempers of the common- 
wealth did not require flatterers to deceive them, but 
physicians to cure them ; which struck so great an awe 
upon the people, that he was first chosen of them all. 
The fine dames of Rome became governors to their 
husbands ; he lamented the change, saying. It is strange 
that those who command the world should yet be sub- 
ject to women. He thought those judges, that would 
not impartially punish malefactors, greater criminals 
than the malefactors themselves : a good lesson for 
judges of the world. He would say. That it was better 
to lose a gift than a correction ; for, says he, the one 
corrupts us, but the other instructs us. That we ought 
not to separate honour from virtue; for then there 
wotild be few any more virtuous. He would say, No 
man is fit to command another, that cannot command 
himself. Great men should be temperate in their pow- 
er, that they may keep it. For men to be too long in 
offices in a government, is to have too little regard to 
others> or the dignity of the state. They that do no- 
thing will learn to do evil. That those who have raised 
themselves by their vices should gain to themselves 
credit by virtue. He repented him, that ever he passed 
one day without doing good. And that there is no 
^.vitness any man ought to fear, but that of his own con- 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 051 

science. Nor did his practice fall much short of his 
principles. 

Sect. 34. SciPio Africanus, though a great gene- 
ral, loaded with honours and triumphs, preferred re- 
tirement to them all ; being used to say, That he was 
never less alone than when he was alone : implying, 
that the most busy men in the world are the most des- 
titute of themselves ; and that external solitariness gives 
the best company within. After he had taken Carthage, 
his soldiers brought him a most beautiful prisoner; he 
answered, '* lam your general;" refusing to debase 
himself, or dishonour her. 

Sect. 35, Augustus, eating at the table of one of his 
friends, where a poor slave breaking a crystal vessel 
fell upon his knees, begging him, that his master might 
not fling him to the lampreys, as he had used to do, for 
food, with such of them as offended him ; AugustuSj 
hating his friend's cruelty, broke all his friend's crystal 
vessels, both reproving his luxury and his severity. He 
never recommended any of his own children, but he 
always added, if they deserve it. He reproved his 
daughter for her excess in apparel, and both rebuked and 
imprisoned her for her immodest latitudes. The peo- 
ple of Rome complaining that wine was dear, he 
sent them to the fountains, telling them, They were 
cheap. 

Sect. 36. Tiberius would not suffer himself to be 
called Lord, nor yet His Sacred Majesty ; For, says he, 
they are divine titles, and belong not to man. The com- 
missioners of his treasury advising him to increase his 
taxes upon the people, he answered, No, it was fit to 
shear, but not to flay the sheep. 

Sect. 37. Vespasian was a great and an extraordi- 
nary man, who maintained something of the Roman vir- 
tue in his time. One day seeing a young man finely 
dressed, and richly perfumed, he was displeased with 

Kk 



2.V;i NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

him, saying, I had father smell the poor man's garlic, 
than thy perfume ; and took his place and government 
from him. A certain person being brought before him, 
that had conspired against him, he reproved him, and 
said, That it was God who gave and took away empires. 
Another time, conferring favour upon his enemy, and 
being asked why he did so ? he answered, That he 
should remember the right way. 

Sect. 38. Trajan would say, That it became an 
emperor to act towards Jiis people, as he w^ould have his 
people act towards him. The governor of Rome having 
delivered the sword into his hand, and created him em- 
peror. Here, saith he, take it again : If I reign well, use 
it for me : if ill, use it against me. An expression 
which shews great humility and goodness, making power 
subservient to virtue. 

Sect. 39. Adrian, also emperor, had several sayings 
worthy of notice : one was, That a good prince did 
not think the estates of his subjects belonged to him. 
He would say, That kings should not always act the 
king : that is, should be just, and mix sweetness with 
greatness, and be convertible by good men. That the 
treasures of princes are like the spleen, that never swells 
but it makes other parts shrink: teaching princes there- 
by to spare their subjects. Meeting one that was his 
enemy before he was emperor, he cried out to him. 
Now thou hast no more to fear : intimating, that having 
power to revenge himself, he would rather use it to do 
him good. 

Sect. 40. Marcus AuRELius Antoninus, a good 
man, the Christians of his time felt it, commended his 
son for weeping at his tutor's death ; answering those 
that would have rendered it unsuitable to his condition, 
Let him alone, says he, it is fit he should shew himself 
a man, before he be a prince. He refused to divorce 
his wife at the instigation of his courtiers, though reput- 
ed naught ; answering, I must divorce the empire too ; 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 25 J 

for she brought it : refusing them, and defending his 
tenderness. He did nothing in the government with- 
out consulting his friends ; and would say. It is more 
just that one should follow the advice of many, than 
many the mind of one. He was more philosopher than 
emperor ; for his dominions were greater within than 
without : and having commanded his own passions by 
a circumspect conformity to virtuous principles, he was 
fit to rule those of other men. Take some of his ex- 
cellent sayings, as folio weth. — Of my grandfather Ve- 
rus I have learned to be gentle and meek, and to re- 
frain from all anger and passion. From the fame and 
memory of him that begot me, shame -facedness and 
man like behaviour. I observed his meekness, his con- 
stancy without wavering, in those things, which after 
a due examination and deliberation he had determined ; 
how free from all vanity he carried himself in matter of 
honour and dignity ! his laboriousness and assiduity ! 
his readiness to hear any man that had aught to say tend- 
ing to any common good ! how he did abstain from all 
unchaste love of youth ! his moderate condescending to 
other men's occasions as an ordinary man. Of my mo- 
ther, to be religious and bountiful, and to forbear not 
only to do, but to intend any evil ; to content myself 
with a spare diet, and to fly all such excess as is incident 
to great wealth. Of my grandfather both to frequent 
public schools and auditories, and to get me good and 
able teachers at home ; and that I ought not to think 
much, if upon such occasions I were at excessive charge. 
I gave over the study of rhetoric and poetry, and of ele- 
gant neat language. I did not use to walk about the 
house in my senator's robe, nor to do any such things. 
I learned to write letters without any affectation and 
curiosity ; and to be easy and ready to be recon- 
ciled, and well pleased again with them that had offer d- 
ed me, as soon as any of them would be content to seek 
unto me again. To observe carefully the several dispo- 
sitions of my friends, and not to be offended with idiots, 
nor unreasonably to set upon those that are carried away 
\yith the vulgar opinions, with the theorems and tenets 



25i NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

of philosophers. To love the truth and justice, and to 
be kind and loving to all them of my house and family, I 
learned from my brother Severus : and it was he that 
put me in the first conceit and desire of an equal com- 
monwealth, administered by justice and equality ; and of 
a kingdom, wherein should be regarded nothing more 
tjian the good and welfare or liberty of the subjects. 
As for God, and such suggestions, helps and inspira- 
tions, as might be expected, nothing did hinder but that 
I might have begun long before to live according to na- 
ture. Or that even now, that I was not yet partaker, 
and in present possession of that life, that I myself, in 
that I did not observe those inward motions and sug- 
gestions ; yea, and almost plain and apparent instructions 
and admonitions of God, was the only cause of it. I 
that understand the nature of that which is good, that it is 
to be desired; and of that which is bad, that it is odi- 
ous and shameful ; who know moreover, that this trans- 
gressor, whosoever he be, is my kinsman, not by the 
same blood and seed, but by participation of the same 
Reason, and of the same Divine Particle, or Principle ; 
how can I either be hurt by any of these, since it is not 
in their power to make me incur any thing that is re- 
proachful, or be angry and iil-affected towards him, who, 
by nature, is so near unto me ? for we are all born to be 
fellow- workers, as the feet, the hands, and the eye- 
lids ; as. the rows of upper and under teeth : for such 
therefore to be in opposition, is against nature. He saiih, 
it is high time for thee to understand the true nature, 
both of the world, whereof thou art a part, and of that 
Lord and Governor of the world, from whom, as a chan- 
nel from the spring, thou thyself didst flow. And that 
there is but a certain limit of time appointed unto thee, 
which if thou shalt not make use of, to calm and allay 
the many distempers of thy soul, it will pass away, and 
thou with it, and never after return. Do, soul, do abuse 
and contemn thyself yet a while ! and the time for thee 
to repent thyself will be at an end ! Every man's happi- 
ness depends upon himself; but behold, thy life is al- 
most at an end^ whilsft, not regarcling thyself as thpii 



Part 11. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. tiS3 

onghtest, thou dost make thy happiness to consist in 
the souls and conceits of other men. TIioii must also 
take heed of another k^nd of wandering ; for they are 
idle in their actions who toil and labour in their life, 
and have no certain scope to which to direct all their 
motions and desires. As for life and death, honour and 
dishonour, labour and pleasure, riches and poverty, al! 
these things happen unto men indeed, both good and 
bad equally, but as things which of themselves are nei- 
ther good nor bad, because of themselves neither shame- 
ful nor praiseworthy. Consider the nature of all world- 
ly visible things ; of those especially, which either en- 
snare by pleasure, or for their irksomeness are dreadful, 
or for their outward lustre and shew are in great esteem 
and request ; how vile and contemptible, how base and 
corruptible, how destitute of all true life and being they 
are. There is nothing more wretched than that soul, 
which, in a kind of circuit, compasseth all things ; search- 
ing even the very depths of all the earth, and, by all 
signs and conjectures, prying into the very thoughts of 
other men's souls ; and yet of this is not sensible, that it 
is sufficient for a man to apply himself wholly, and con- 
fine all his thoughts and cares to the guidance of that 
Spirit which is within him, and truly and really serve 
him. For even the least things ought not to be done 
without relation to the end : and the end of the rea- 
sonable creature is, To follow and obey him who is the 
reason, as it were, and the law, of this great city and. 
most ancient commonwealth. Philosophy doth consist 
in this : For a man to preserve that spirit which is 
within him from all manner of contumelies and inju- 
ries, and above all pains and pleasures ; never to do any 
thing either rashly, or feignedly, or hypocritically ; he 
that is such, is He surely ; indeed a very priest and 
minister of God ; well acquainted, and in good corres- 
pondence, with him especia ly that is seated and placed 
within himself: to whom also he keeps and preserveth 
himself, neither spotted by pleasure, nor daunted by 
pain ; free from any manner of wrong or contumely. 
Let thy God that is in thee, to rule over thee, find by 



256 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

thee that he hath to do with a man, an aged man, a so- 
ciable man, a Roman, a prince, and that hath ordered 
his life as one that expecteth, as it were, nothing but 
the sound of the trumpet, sounding a retreat to depart 
out of this life with all readiness. Never esteem of any 
thing as profitable, which shall ever constrain thee either 
to break thy faith or to lose thy modesty ; to hate 
any man, to suspect, to curse, to dissemble, to lust after 
any thing that requireth the secret of walls or veils. 
But he that preferreth before all things his rational part 
and spirit, and the sacred mysteries of virtue which issue 
from it, he shall never want either solitude or company ; 
and, which is chiefest of all, he shall live without either 
desire or fear. If thou shalt intend thai which is pre- 
sent, following the rule of right and reason, carefully, 
solidly, meekly ; and shalt not intermix any other busi- 
ness ; but shalt study this, to preserve thy spirit unpollut- 
ed and pure ; and, as one that were even now ready to 
give up the ghost, shalt cleave unto him, without either 
hope or fear of any thing, in all things that thou shalt 
either do or speak ; contenting thyself with heroical 
truth, thou shalt live happily ; and from this there is no 
man that can hinder thee. Without relation to God, 
thou shalt never perform aright any thing human ; nor, 
on the other side, any thing divine. At what time soe- 
ver thou wilt, it is in thy power to retire into thyself, 
and to be at rest ; for a man cannot retire any whither 
to be more at rest, and freer from all business, than into 
his own soul. Afford then thyself this retiring continu- 
ally, and thereby refresh and renew thyself. Death 
hangeth over thee whilst yet thou livest ; and, whilst thou 
mayest be good. How much time and leisure doth he 
gain, who is not curious to know what his neighbour 
hath said, or hath done, or hath attempted, but only 
what he doeth himself, that it may be just and holy. Nei- 
ther must he use himself to cut off actions only, but 
thoughts and imaginations also that are not necessary ; 
for so will unnecessary consequent actions the better be 
prevented and cut off. He is poor that stands in need 
of another, and hath not in himself all things needful 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 257 

for his life. Consider well, whether magnanimity ra- 
ther, and true liberty, and true simplicity, and equani- 
mity, and holiness, whether these be not most reasona- 
ble and natural. Honour that which is chiefest and most 
powerful in the world, and that is it which makes use of 
all things, and governs all things : so also in thyself, ho- 
nour that which is chiefest and most powerful, and is of 
one kind and nature with that ; for it is the very same, 
which being in thee, turneth all other things to its own 
use, and by whom also thy life is governed. What is it 
that thou dost stay for ; an extinction, or a translation ? 
for either of them, with a propitious and contented 
mind. But till that time come, what will content thee ? 
what else, but to worship and praise God, and to do good 
unto men ? As he lay a-dying, and his friends about 
him, he spake thus : Think more of death than of me, 
and that you and all men must die, as well as I. Ad- 
ding, I recommend my son to you, and to God, if he be 
worthy. 

Sect* 41. Pertinax, also emperor, being advised to 
save himself from the fury of the mutineers, answered. 
No, what have I done that I should do so ? shewing, 
that innocence is bold, and should never give ground 
where it can shew itself, be heard, and have fair 
play. 

Sect. 42. Pescennius, seeing the corruption that 
reigned among officers of justice, advised. That judges 
should have first salaries that they might do their duty 
without any bribes or perquisites. He said, He would 
not offend the living, that he might be praised when he 
was dead. 

Sect. 43. Alexander Severus, having tasted both 
of a private life, and the state of an emperor, had this 
censure, Emperors, says he, are ill managers of the pub- 
lic revenue, to feed so many unuseful mouths. Where- 
fore he retrenched his family from pompous to service- 
able. He would not employ persons of quality in his 



258 NO GROSS, NO CROWN. Part II, 

domestic se;vice, thinking it too mean for them, and 
too costly for him : adding, That personal service was 
the work of the lowest order of the people. He would 
never suffer offices of justice to be sold : For, saith he, it 
is not strange that men should sell what they buy ; 
meaning justice. He was impartial in correction : My 
friends, says he, are dear to me, but the commonwealth 
is dearer. Yet he would say, That sweetening power 
to the people made it lasting. That we ought to gain 
our enemies, as we keep our friends ; that is, by kind- 
ness. He said, that we ought to desire happiness, and 
to bear afflictions : that those thmgs which are desirable 
may be pleasant ; but the troubles we avoid may have 
most profit in the end. He did not like pomp in reli- 
gion ; for it is not gold that recommends the sacrifice, 
but the piety of him that offers it. An house being in 
contest betwixt some Christians and keepers of taverns, 
the one to perform religion, the other to sell drink 
therein, he decided the matter thus : That it were much 
better that it were any way employed to worship God, 
than to make a tavern of it. Behold ! by this we 
may see the wisdom and virtue that shined among 
Heathens. 

Sect. 44. AuRELiANUs, the emperor, having threat- 
ened a certain tov/n that had rebelled against him, 
That he would not leave a dog alive therein ; and find- 
ing the fear he raised brought them easily to their duty, 
bid his soldiers go kill all their dogs, and pardon the 
people. 

Sect. 45. DiocLEsiAN would say. That there was 
nothing more difficult than to reign well ; and the rea- 
son he gave was, That those who had the ears of princes 
do so continually lay ambushes to surprise them to their 
interests, that they can hardly make one right step. 

Sect. 46. Julian, coming to the empire, drove from 
the palace, troops of eunuchs, cooks, barbers, &:c. His 
reason was this, That having no women he needed no 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 25^ 

eunuchs ; and loving simple plain meat, he needed no 
cooks : and he said, One barber would serve a great 
many. A good example for the luxurious Christians of 
our times. 

Sect. 47. Th EG DOS I us the younger was so merciful 
in his nature, that instead of putting people to death, 
he wished it were in his power to call the dead to life 
again. 

These were the sentiments of the ancient grandees of 
the world, to wit, emperors, kings, princes, captains, 
statesmen, &c. not unworthy of the thoughts of persons 
of the same figure and quality now in being : and for 
that end they are here collected, that such may with 
more ease and brevity behold the true statues of the an- 
cients, not lost, or lessened by the decays of time. 

III. I will now proceed to report the virtuous doc- 
trines and sayings of men of more retirement ; such 
as philosophers and writers, of both Greeks and Ro- 
mans, who in their respective times were masters in the 
civility, knowledge and virtue that were among the Gen- 
tiles, being most of them many ages before the coming of 
Christ. 

Sect. 48. Thales, an ancient Greek philosopher, 
being asked by a person that had committed adultery, 
if he might swear? answered, By no means; for per- 
jury is not less sinful than adultery ; and so thou would- 
est commit two sins to cover one. Being asked, What 
was the best condition of a government, he answered, 
That the people be neither rich nor poor ; for he placed 
external happiness in moderation. He would say. That 
the hardest thing in the world was, to know a man's 
self; but the best, to avoid those things which we re- 
prove in others : an excellent and close saying. That 
we ought to choose well, and then to hold fast. That 
the felicity of the body consists in health, and that in 
temperance; and the felicity of the soul in wisdom. 
He thought that God was without bce;inning or end; 

LI 



260 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

that he was the searcher of hearts ; that he saw thoughts, 
as well as actions : for being asked of one, if he could sin 
and hide it from God ? he answered, No, how can I, 
w^hen he that thinks evil cannot ? 

Sect. 49. Pythagoras, a famous and virtuous phi- 
losopher of Italy, being asked, when men might take the 
pleasure of their passions ? answered. When they have 
a mind to be worse. He said. The world was like a 
comedy, and the true philosophers the spectators. He 
would say. That luxury led to debauchery, and debau- 
chery to violence, and that to bitter repentance. That 
he who taketh too much care of his body makes the pri- 
son of his soul more insufferable. That those who do 
reprove us are our best friends. That men ought to 
preserve their bodies from diseases by temperance ; their 
souls from ignorance by meditation ; their will from 
vice, by self-denial ; and their country from civil war, 
by justice. That it is better to be loved than feared. 
That virtue makes bold : But, saith he, there is nothing 
so fearful as an evil conscience. He said, That men 
should believe of a Divinity, that it is, and that it over- 
looks them, and neglecteth them not ; there is no being 
nor place without God. He told the senators of Croto- 
nia (being two thousand) praying his advice, That they 
received their country as a depositum or trust from the 
people ; wherefore they should manage it accordingly, 
since they were to resign their account, with their trust, 
to their own children. That the way to do it, was to be 
equal to all the citizens, and to excel them in nothing 
more than justice. That every one of them should so 
govern their family, that he might refer himself to his 
own house, as to a court of judicature, taking great care 
to preserve natural affection. That they be exam- 
ples of temperance in their own families, and to the city. 
That in courts of judicature none attest God by an Oath, 
but use themselves so to speak, as they may be believed 
wiihout an oath. That the discourse of that philoso- 
pher is vain, by which no passion of man is healed : 
;ii&i','as there is no benefit of medicine, if it expel not dis- 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 261 

eases out of bodies ; so neither of philosophy, if it expel 
not evil out of the soul. Of God, an heavenly life and 
state, he saith thus, They mutually exhorted one another, 
that they should not tear asunder ** God which is in 
them.*' Their study and friendship by words and ac- 
tions, had reference to some divine temperament ; and 
to union with God, and to unity with the mind, and the 
Divine Soul. That all which they determine to be done 
aims and tends to the acknowledgment of the Deity. 
This is the principle ; and the whole life of man consists 
in this, ** That he follow God ;'* and this is the ground 
of philosophy. He saith, 

Hope all things ; for to none belongs despair : 
All things to God easy and perfect are. 

The work of the Mind is life. The work of God is im- 
mortality, eternal life. The Mind in man is termed 
God, by participation : the rational soul is directed by 
the Mind, it inclines the will to virtue, and is termed the 
good D^mon, Genius, or Spirit. If by phantasy and 
ill affections, it draws the will to vices, the evil Daemon ; 
whence Pythagoras desired of God, to keep us from 
evil, and to shew every one the Dspmon or good Spirit, 
he ought to use. The rational man is more noble than 
other creatures, as more divine ; not content solely with 
one operation, as all other things drawn along by nature, 
which always acts after the same manner, but endued with 
various gifts, which he useth according to his free will ; 
in respect of which liberty, 

Men are of heavenly race. 



Taught by Diviner Nature what t'embrace. 

By Diviner Nature, is meant the intellectual soul ; as to 
intellect, man approaches nigh to God ; as to inferior 
senses, he recedeth from God. By chorus, the infinite 
joy of the blessed spirits, their immutable delight, stiled 
by Homer, etVoe^^ y)xai (inextinguishable laughter). For 
what greater pleasure, thaa to behold the serene aspect 



262 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

of God, and next him the ideas and forms of all thmgs, 
more purely and transparently, than secondarily, in cre- 
ated beings. The Pythagoreans had this distich, among 
those commonly called the Golden Verses : 

Rid of this body, if the heavens free 

You reach, henceforth immortal you shall be. 

Or thus ; 

Who after death, arrive at th' heavenly plain, 
Are straight like Gods, and never die again. 

Sect. 50. Solon, esteemed as Thales, one of the 
Seven Sages of Greece, a noble philosopher, and a law- 
giver to the Athenians, was so humble, that he refused 
to be prince of that people, and voluntarily banished 
himself, when Pisistratus usurped the government there; 
resolving never to out-live the laws and freedom of his 
• country.* He would say, that to make a government 
last, the magistrates must obey the laws, and the people 
the magistrates. It was his judgment, that riches brought 
luxury, and luxury brought tyranny. Being asked by 
Croesus, king of Lydia, when seated in his throne, 
richly clothed, and magnificently attended, if he had ever 
seen any tiling more glorious ? He answered. Cocks, 
peacocks, and pheasants ; by how much their beauty is 
natural. These undervaluing expressions of wise So- 
lon meeting so pat upon the pride and luxury of Croe- 
sus, they parted : the one desirous of toys and vanities; 
the other an example and instructor of true nobility and 
virtue, that contemned the king's effeminacy. Another 
time Croesus asked him, who was the happiest man in the 
world ? expecting he should have said, Croesus, because 
the most famous for wealth in those parts ; he answered 
Tellus ; who, though poor, yet was an honest and good 
man, and contented with what he had : that after he had 
servedthe commonwealth faithfully, and seen his children 

♦ Plutarch. Herod. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 253 

and grand-children virtuously educated, died for his coun- 
try in a good old age, and was carried by his children 
to his grave,* This much displeased Crcesus, but he 
dissembled it. Whilst Solon recommended the happi- 
ness of Tellus, Crcesus, moved, demanded whom he 
assigned the next place to, making no question but 
himself should be named ? Cleobis, saith he, and Bito ; 
brethren that loved well, had a competency, weT^ of 
great health and strength, most tender and obedient to 
their mother, religious of life ; who, after sacrificing in 
the temple, fell asleep, and waked no more. Hereat 
Croesus, growing angry. Strange ! saith he ; doth our 
happiness seem so despicable, that thou wilt not rank 
us equal with private persons ? Solon answered, Dost 
thou inquire of us about human affairs ? knowest thou 
not, that Divine Providence is severe, and often full 
of alteration ? Do not we, in process of time ; see 
many things we would not ? Aye, and suffer many 
things we would not ? Count man's life at seventy 
years, which makef twenty-six thousand two hundred 
and fifty and odd days, there is scarcely one day like 
another ; so that every one, O Crcesus, is attended with 
crosses. Thou appearest to me very rich, and king 
over many people ; but the question thou askest, I can- 
not resolve, till I hear thou hast ended thy days hap- 
pily ; for he that hath much wealth is not happier than 
he that gets his bread from day to day ; unless Provi- 
dence continue those good things, and that he dieth 
well. In every thing, O king, we must have regard 
to the end ; for man, to whom God dispenseth worldly 
good things, he at last utterly deserts. Solon, after 
his discourse, not flattering Croesus, was dismissed, 
and accounted unwise, that he neglected the present 
good, out of regard to the future. JEsop, that wrote 
the Fables, being then at Sardis, sent for thither by 
Crcesus, and much in favour with him, was grieved to 
see Solon so unthankfully dismissed; and said to him, 
Solon, We must cither tell kings nothing at all, or 

• Plutarch. Laert. f According^ lo the Athenian Recount. 



254 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

what may please them : No, saith Solon, either no- 
thing at all, or what is best for them. However, it 
was not long ere Croesus was of another mind ; for 
being taken prisoner by Cyrus, the founder of the 
Persian monarchy, and by his command fettered and 
put on a pile of wood to be burned, Croesus sighed 
deeply, and cried, O Solon, Solon ! Cyrus bid the 
interpreter ask on whom he called ? He was silent ; 
but at last pressing him answered. Upon him, whom 
I desire, above all wealth, to have spoken with all 
tyrants. This not understood, upon farther importu- 
nity he told them, Solon, an Athenian ; who long 
since, says he, came to me, and seeing my wealth, 
despised it ; besides ; what he told me is come to pass : 
nor did his counsel belong to me alone, but to all 
mankind, especij^ly those that think themselves happy. 
Whilst Croesus said thus, the fire began to kindle, and 
the out-parts to be seized by the flame : Cyrus, in- 
formed of the interpreters what Croesus said, began to 
be troubled ; and knowing himself to be a man, and 
that to use another, not inferior to himself in wealth, 
so severely, might one day be retaliated, instantly 
commanded the fire to be quenched, and Croesus and 
his friends to be brought off; whom, ever after, as 
long as he lived, Cyrus had in great esteem.* Thus 
Solon gained due praise, that of two kings ; his ad- 
vice saved one, and instructed the other. And as it 
was in Solon's time that Tragical plays were first in- 
vented, so was he most severe against them ; foresee- 
ing the inconveniences that followed, upon the peo- 
ple's being aifected w^ith that novelty of pleasure. It 
is reported of him, that he went himself to the play, 
and after it was ended, he went to Thespis, the great 
actor, and asked him. If he were not ashamed to tell so 
many lies in the face of so great an auditory ? Thespis 
finswered, as it is now usual, There is no harm nor 
shame to act such things in jest. Solon striking his staff 
bard upon the ground, replied, But in a short time, we 

* Uerodot. Halicar. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 265 

who approve of this kind of jest shall use it in earnest 
in our common affairs and contracis. In fine, he abso- 
lutely forbad him to teach or act plays : conceiving them 
deceitful and unprofitable ; diverting youth and trades- 
men from more necessary and virtuous employments. 
He defined them happy, who are competently furnished 
with their outward callings, that live temperately and 
honestly. He would say, That cities are the common 
shore of wickedness. He affirmed that to be the best 
family, which got not unjustly, kept not unfaithfully, 
spent not with repentance. Observe, saith he, honesty 
in thy conversation, " more strictly than an Oath." Seal 
words with silence ; silence with opportunity. Never 
lie, but speak the truth. Fly pleasure, for it brings 
sorrow. Advise not the people what is most pleasant, 
but what is best. Make not friends in haste, nor hasti- 
ly part with them. Learn to obey, and thou wilt know 
how to command. Be arrogant to none ; be mild to 
those that are about thee. Converse not with wicked 
persons. Meditate on serious things. Reverence thy 
parents. Cherish thy friend. Conform to reason ; and 
in all things take counsel of God. In fine, his two short 
sentences were these, Of nothing too much ; and, know 
thyself.* 

Sect. 51. Chilon, another of the wise men of 
Greece, would say. That it was the perfection of a man 
to foresee and prevent mischiefs. That herein good peo- 
ple differ from bad ones, their hopes were firm and as- 
sured. That God was the great touch-stone, or rule of 
mankind. That men's tongues ought not to outrun their 
judgment. That we ought not to flatter great men, lest 
we exalt them above their merit and station ; nor to 
speak hardly of the helpless. They that would govern 
a state well, must govern their faiiiilies well. He would 
say. That a man ought so to behave himself, that he fall 
neither into hatred nor disgrace. That that common- 
wealth is happiest, where the people mind the law more 

* Stob. Sent. 3. Clem. Alex, SUoiru h 



266 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

than the lawyers. Men should not forget the favours 
they receive, nor remember those they do. Three things 
he said were difficult, yet necessary to be observed. To 
keep secrets, forgive injuries, and use time w^ell. Speak 
not ill, says he, of thy neighbour. Go slowly to the 
feasts of thy friends, but swiftly to their troubles. 
Speak well of the dead. Shun busy-bodies. Prefer 
loss before covetous gain. Despise not the miserable. 
If powerful, behave thyself mildly, that thou mayest be 
loved, rather than feared. Order thy house well : bridle 
thy anger : grasp not at much : make not haste, neither 
doat upon any thing below. A prince, saith he, must 
not take up his time about transitory and mortal things ; 
eternal and immortal are fittest for him. To conclude : he 
was so just in all his actions, that Laertius tells us, he 
professed in his old age, that he had never done any 
thing contrary to the conscience of an upright man ; only 
that of one thing he was doubtful, having given sentence 
against his friend, according to law, he advised his 
friend to appeal from him, his judge, so to preserve both 
his friend and the law. Thus true and tender was con- 
science in Heathen Chilon. 

Sect. 52. Periander, a prince and philosopher 
too, would say. That pleasures are mortal, but virtues 
immortal. In success be moderate ; in disappoint- 
ments, patient and prudent. Be alike to thy friends, in 
prosperity and in adversity. Peace is good ; rashness 
dangerous ; gain, sordid. Betray not secrets. Punish 
the guilty. Restrain men from sin. They that would 
rule safely must be guarded by love, not arms. To 
conclude, saith he, live worthy of praise, so wdlt thovi 
die blessed.^ 

Sect. 53, Bias, one of the Seven Wise men, being 
in a storm with wicked men, who cried mightily to 
God ; Hold your tongues, saith he, it were better he 

• Baart. Suid. Protag^. Stob. 2 S. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 267 

knew not you were here :* a saying that hath great doc- 
trine in it ; the devotion of the wicked doeth them no 
good : it answers to that passage in scripture, '" The 
prayers of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord."* 
An ungodly man asking him, What godliness was ? he 
was silent ; but the other murmuring, saith he, What 
is that to thee ? that is not thy concern. He was so ten- 
der in his nature, that he seldom judged any criminal to 
death, but he wept ; adding, One part goeth to God, and 
that other part I must give the law. That man is un- 
happy, saith he, that cannot bear affliction. It is a dis- 
ease of the mind, to desire that which cannot, or is not 
fit to be had. It is an ill thing not to be mindful of other 
men's miseries. To one who asked, What is hard ? he 
answered, To bear cheerfully a change for the worse. 
Those, says he, who busy themselves in vain knowledge, 
resemble owls that see by night, and are blind by day ; 
for they are sharp- sighted in vanity, but dark at the ap- 
proach of true light and knowledge. He adds, Under- 
take deliberately ; but then go through. Speak not 
hastily, lest thou sin. Be neither silly nor subtle. Hear 
much ; speak little, and seasonably. Make profession 
of God every where ; and impute the good thou doest, 
not to thyself, but to the power of God. His country 
being invaded, and the people flying with the best of 
their goods, asked, Why he carried none of his ? I, 
saith he, carry my goods within me. Valerius Maxi- 
mus adds. In his breast ; not to be seen by the eye, but 
to be prized by the soul ; not to be demolished by mor- 
tal hands ; present with them that stay, and not forsaking 
those that fly. 

^ect. 54. Cleobulus, a prince and philosopher of 
Lyndus. He would say, That it was man's duty to be 
always employed upon something that was good. Again^ 
Be never vain nor ungrateful. Bestow your daughters 
virgins in years, but matrons in discretion. Do good 
to thy friend, to keep him ; to thy enemy, to gain him. 

* Laert. Stob. » Prov. xv. 8. 



MB NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

When any man goeth forth, let him consider what he 
hath to do ; when he returneth, examine what he hath 
done. Know, that to reverence thy father is thy duty. 
Hear willingly, but trust not hastily. Obtain by per- 
suasion, not by violence. Being rich, be not exalted ; 
poor, be not dejected. Forego enmity : instruct thy 
children : pray to God, and persevere in godliness.* 

Sect. 55. PiTTAcus being asked, What was the 
best ? he answered. To do the present thing well. He 
would say, What thou dost take ill in thy neighbour, 
do not thyself. Reproach not the unhappy ; for the 
hand of God is upon them. Be true to thy trust. Bear 
with thy neighbour ; love thy neighbour. Reproach 
not thy friend, though he recede from thee a little. He 
would say, That commonwealth is best ordered, where 
the v/icked have no command ; and that family, which 
hath neither ornament nor necessity. To conclude : he 
advised to acquire honesty ; love discipline ; observe 
temperance ; gain prudence ; mind diligence ; and keep 
truth, faith, and piety. He had a brother, who dying 
without issue, left him his estate ; so that when Croesus 
offered him wealth, he answered, I have more by 
half than I desire. He also affirmed, That family the 
best, who got not unjustly, kept not unfaithfully, spent 
not with repentance : and. That happiness consists in a 
virtuous and honest life, with being content with a com- 
petency of outward things, and in using them temper- 
ately. And to conclude, he earnestly enjoined all to flee 
corporal pleasure ; for, says he, it certainly brings sor- 
row : but to observe an honest life more strictly than an 
oath ; and meditate on serious things. f 

Sect. 56. HiPPiAs, a philosopher : It is recorded of 
him, that he would have every one provide his own ne- 
cessaries ; and, that he might do what he taught, he was 
his own tradesman. He was singular in all such arts 

* LacFt. Plut. Sympos. Sap. Sep. Stob. Sep. t Plutarch, Stob. 28. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 269 

and employments, insomuch that he made the very biiji- 
kins he wore.* A better life than an Alexander's. 

Sect. 57. The Gymnosophistee were a sect of philoso- 
phers in Egypt, that so despised gaudy apparel, and 
the rest of the world's intemperance, that they went 
almost naked ; living poorly, and with great mean- 
ness : by which they were enabled against all cold, and 
overcame that lust by innocence, which people, that 
are called Christians, though covered, are overcome 
withal, f 

Sect. 58. The Bambycatii wxre a certain great peo- 
ple that inhabited about the river Tigris, in Asia ; who 
observing the great influence gold, silver, and preci- 
ous jewels had upon their minds, agreed to bury all in 
the earth, to prevent the corruption of their manners. 
They used inferior metals, and lived wath very ordinary 
accommodation ; wearing mostly but one very grave 
and plain robe to cover nakedness. It were w^ell, if 
Christians would mortify their unsatiable appetites after 
wealth and vanity any way, fo.r Heathens judge their ex- 
cess, f 

Sect. 59. The Athenians had two distinct numbers of 
men, called the Gynaecosmi and Gyn^economi. These 
were appointed by the magistrates to overlook the ac- 
tions of the people : the first was to see that they appa- 
relled and behaved themselves gravely ; especially that 
women were of modest behaviour : and the other w^as 
to be present at their treats and festivals, to see that 
there was no excess, nor disorderly carriage : and in 
case any were found criminal, they had full power to pu- 
nish them.^ When, alas ! when shall this care and wis- 
dom be seen among the Christians of these times, that 
so intemperance might be prevented ? But it is too evi- 
dent they love the power and the profits, but despise 

• Cic. lib. de Orat. t PUn. 7. 2 Cic. Tusc. Q»icst. 5. 

\ PUn. § Vid. Suid. 



270 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

the virtue of government ; making it an end, instead of 
a means to that happy end, viz. The well-ordering the 
manners and conversation of the people, and equally 
distributing rewards and punishments. 

Sect. 60. Anacharsis, a Scythian, was a great 
philosopher ; Crcesus oiFered him large sums of money, 
but he refused them. Hanno did the like ; to whom he 
answered, My apparel is a Scythian rug ; my shoes the 
Tiardness of my feet ; my bed, the earth ; my sauce, 
hunger : you may come to me as one that is contented ; 
but those gifts w^hich you so much esteem, bestow either 
on your citizens, or in sacrifice to the immortal Gods.* 

Sect. 61. Anaxagoras, a nobleman, but true phi- 
losopher, left his great patrimony to seek out wisdom : 
and being reproved by his friends for the little care he 
had of his estate, answered. It is enough that You care 
for it. One asked him. Why he had no more love for 
his country than to leave it ? Wrong me not, saith he, 
my greatest care is my country, pointing his finger to- 
wards heaven. Returning home, and taking a view of 
his great possessions. If I had not disregarded them, 
saith he, I had perished. He was a great clearer and 
improver of the doctrine of One Eternal God, denying 
divinity to sun, moon, and stars ; saying, God was in- 
finite, not confined to place ; the Eternal Wisdom and 
Efficient Cause of all things ; the Divine Mind and Un- 
derstanding ; who, when matter was confused, came and 
reduced it to order, which is the world we see.* He 
suffered much from some magistrates for his opinion ; 
yet, dying, was admired by them : his epitaph in En- 
glish thus: 

Here lies, who through the truest paths did pass 
To th' worM celestial, Anaxagoras. 

» Cic. Tus. Quest. 5. Clem. Alex. Strob. f jpiut. contra Usur. Lysand. Cic. 
Tu§. Quest. 5. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 2ri 

Sect. 62. Her ACLiTus was invited by king Darius, 
for his great virtue and learning, to this effect : Come, 
as soon as thou canst, to my presence and royal palace ; 
for the Greeks, for the most part, are not obsequious 
to wise men, but despise the good things which they 
deliver. With me thou shalt have the first place, and 
dai y honour and titles : thy way of living shall be as 
noble as thy instructions. But Heraclitus refusing his 
offer returned this answer ; Herachtus to Darius the 
king, health. Most men refrain from justice and truth, 
and pursue insatiableness and vain-glory, by reason of 
their folly ; but I, having forgot all evil, and shunning 
the society of inbred envy and pride, will never come 
to the kingdom of Persia, being contented with a little, 
according to my own mind. He also slighted the Athe- 
nians. He had great and cle ir apprehensions of the 
nature and power of God, maintaining his divinity 
against the idolatry in fashion. This definition he 
gives of God ; He is not made with hands. The whole 
world, adorned with his creatures, is his mansion. 
Where is God ? Shut up in temples ^ Impious men ! 
who place their God in the dark. It is a reproach to a 
man, to tell him he is a stone ; yet the God you pro- 
fess is born of a rock. You ignorant people ! you 
know not God : his works bear witness of him. Of 
himself he saith, O ye men, will ye not learn why I ne- 
ver laugh ? it is not that I hate men, but their wicked- 
ness. If you would not have me weep, live in peace : 
you carry swords in your tongues ; you plunder wealth, 
ravish women, poison friends, betray the trust people 
repose in you : shall I laugh, when I see men do these 
things ? their garments, beards, and heads, adorned with 
unnecessary care ; a mother deserted by a wicked son ; 
or young men consuming their patrimony ; a citizen's 
wife taken from him ; a virgin ravished ; a concubine 
kept as a wife ; others filling their bellies at feasts, more 
with poison than with dainties ? Virtue would strike 
me blind, if I should laugh at your wars. By music, 
pipes, and stripes, you are excited to things contrary to 
all harmony. Iron, a metal more proper for ploughs and 



5>r2 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part 11. 

tillages, is fitted for slaughter and death : men, raising 
armies of men, covet to kill one another ; and punish 
men that quit the field for not staying to murder men. 
They honour as valiants, such as are drunk with blood ; 
but lions, horses, eagles, and other creatures, use not 
swords, bucklers, and instruments of war : their limbs 
are their weapons, some their horns, some their bills, 
some their wings ; to one is given swiftness ; to ano- 
ther, bigness ; to a third swimming. No irrational crea- 
ture useth a sword, but keeps itself within the laws of 
its creation ; except Man, that doeth not so ; which 
brings the heavier blame, because he hath the greatest 
understanding. You must leave your wars and your 
wickedness, which you ratify by a law, if you would have 
me leave my severity. I have overcome pleasure, I 
have overcome riches, I have overcome ambition, I have 
mastered flattery : fear hath nothing to object against 
me, drunkenness hath nothing to charge upon me, an- 
ger is afraid of me : I have won the garland, in fighting 
against these enemies. — This, and much more did he 
write in his epistles to Hermodorus, of his complaints 
against the great degeneracy of the Ephesians. And 
in an epistle to Aphidamus, he writes I am fallen sick, 
Aphidamus, of a dropsy. Whatsoever is of us, if it [ret 
the dominion, it becomes a disease. Excess of heat is a 
fever ; excess of cold, a palsy ; excess of wind, a colic : 
my disease cometh from excess of moisture. The soul 
is something divine, which keeps all these in a due pro- 
portion. I know the nature of the world ; I know that 
of man ; I know diseases; I know health : 1 will cure 
myself, •• I will imitate God," who makes equal the in- 
equalities of the world. But if my body be overpressed, 
it must descend to the place ordained ; however, my soul 
shall not descend ; but being a thing immortal, shall as- 
cend on high, where an heavenly mansion shall receive 
me. — A most weighty and pathetical discourse : they 
that know any thing of God, may savour something 
divine in it. Oh 1 that the degenerate Christians of 
these times would but take a view of the virtue, tem- 
perance, zeal, piety, and faith of this Heathen, who, 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 275 

notwithstanding that he lived five hundred years before 
the coming of Christ in the flesh, had these excellent 
sentences ! Yet agaio ; he taught that God punisheth 
not by taking away riches ; he rather allow eth them to 
the wicked to discover them ; for poverty may be a veil. 
Speaking of God, How can that light which never sets, 
be ever hidden or obscured ? Justice, saith he, shall 
seize one day upon defrauders and witnesses of false 
things. Unless a man hopes to the end, for that which 
is to be hoped for, he shall not find that which is un- 
searchable ; which Clemens, an ancient father, applied 
to Isa. vi. " Unless you believe, you shall not under- 
stand." Heraclitus derided the sacrifices of creatures : 
Do you think, saith he, to pacify God, and cleanse your- 
selves, by polluting yourselves with blood ? as if a man 
should go into the dirt to cleanse himself. Which 
shewed a sight of a more spiritual worship, than that of 
the sacrifices of beasts. He lived solitary in the moun- 
tains ; had a sight of his end : and as he was prepa- 
red for it, so he rejoiced in it. These certainly were 
the men, *' who having not a law without them, be- 
came a law unto themselves, shewing forth the work of 
the law written in their hearts. '"" And who, for that 
reason, shall judge the circumcision, and receive the re- 
ward of *' Well done," by him who is judge of quick 
and dead. 

Sect. 65. Democritus would say. That he had 
lived to an extraordinary age, by keeping himself from 
luxury and excess. That a little estate went a great way 
with^men that were neither covetous nor prodigal. That 
luxury furnished great tables with variety ; and tem- 
perance furnisheth little ones. That riches do not con- 
sist in the possession, but right use of wealth. He was 
a man of great retirement, avoiding public honours and 
employments : bewailed by the people of Abdera as 
mad, whilst indeed he only smiled at the madness of the 
world. 

«> Ron-, ii. 14. 



274 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

Sect. 64. Socrates, the most religious and learned 
philosopher of his time, and of whom it is reported Ap- 
pollo gave this character, That he was the wisest man 
on earth, was a man of a severe life, and instructed peo- 
ple gratis in just, grave and virtuous manners : for 
which being envied by Aristophanes, the vain comical 
wit of that age, as one spoiling the trade of plays, and 
exercising the generality of the people with more nobl^ 
and virtuous things ; he was represented by him in a 
play, in which he rendered Socrates so ridiculous, that 
the vulgar would rather part with Socrates in earnest, 
than Socrates in jest ; which made way fjr their im- 
peaching him, as an enemy to their gods; for which 
they put him to death. But in a short space, his eigh- 
ty judges, and the whole people, so deeply repented the 
loss, that they slew many of his accusers : some hanged 
themselves ; none would trade with them, nor answer 
them a question. They erected several statues to his 
praise ; they forbade his name to be mentioned, that 
they might forget their injustice : they called home his 
banished friends and scholars. And, by the most wise 
and learned men of that age, it is observed, that famous 
city was punished with the most dreadful plagues that 
ever raged amongst them; and all Greece, with it, 
never prospered in any considerable undertaking ; but 
from that time always decayed.* Amongst many of 
his sober and religious maxims, upon which he was 
accustomed to discourse with his disciples, these are 
some : 

He taught every where, that an upright man, and 
an happy man, are all one. They that do good, are 
employed : they that spend their time in recreations, 
are idle. To clo good is the best course of life; he 
only is idle, who might be better employed. An horse 
is not known by his furniture, but qualities ; so men 
are to be esteemed for virtue, not wealth. Being asked, 
who lived without trouble ? he answered, Those who 



* Plat. Apolog-. Dloff. Laert Helvic. Cic. Tus. Quest. 1. Xenopli. Brut. Cic 
Orat. Liban. Apol. Varro Hist. Scho!. Arist. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 275 

are conscious to themselves of no evil thing. To one 
who demanded, What was nobility ? he answered, A 
good temper and disposition of soul and body. They 
who know what they ought to do, and do it not, are 
not wise and temperate, but fools and stupid. To one 
that complained, he had not been benefited by his tra- 
vels : Not without reason, says Socrates, thou didst 
travel with thy Self; intimating, he knew not the eter- 
nal Mind of God to direct and inform him. Being de- 
manded, What wisdom was ? said, A virtuous com- 
posure of the soul. And being asked. Who were wise? 
answered, Those that sin not. Seeing a young man 
rich, but ignorant of heavenly things, and pursuing 
earthly pleasures ; Behold, says he, a golden slave. Soft 
ways of living beget neither a good constitution of body 
nor mind. Fine and rich clothes are only for comedi- 
ans. Being demanded from what things men and wo- 
men ought to refrain ? he answered, Pleasure. Being 
asked, What continence and temperance were ? he 
said, Government of corporal desires and pleasures. 
The wicked live to eat, &c. but the good eat to live. 
Temperate persons become the most excellent ; eat 
that which neither hurts the body nor mind, and which 
is easy to be gotten. One saying, It was a great matter 
to abstain from what one desires : But, says he, it is 
better not to desire at all. [This is deep religion, even 
very hard to professed Christians.] *' It is the proper- 
ty of God, to need nothing ; and they that need, and 
are contented with least, come nearest to God. The 
only and best way to worship God, is to mind and obey 
whatsoever he commands. That the souls of men and 
women partake of the Divine Nature. That God is 
seen of the virtuous mind. That by waiting upon him, 
they are united unto him, in an inaccessible place of pu- 
rity and happiness. Which God, he asserted always to 
be near him."^ 

• Clem. Alex. Strom. 2 417. Xen. Mem. 3. p. 720. Xen. Mem. 3. p. 773, 779, 
780. Stob. Ech. Strom. 1. 11. St>b. 4. 6. Stob. 2. 18 Xenoph. Mem. 3. Senec. 
£pi;.t. 1. 103. stob. 28. Stub. 32. Xen. Mem. 1. vElisn. 9. Stob. 37. Slob. 87. 
Xen Mem. 3. 4. /Elian, Var. Hist. 9. Stob. 57. Xenoph. Mem. 4. 8'.2. Tla?. 

Nn 



ir/G NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II-. 

Many more are the excellent sayings of this great man, 
who was not less famous for his sayings, than his ex- 
ample, with the greatest nations ; yet died he a sacri- 
fice to the sottish fury of the vain world. The history 
of his life reports, that his father was told, He should 
have the Guide of his life within him, which should 
be more to him than five hundred masters ; which proved 
true : instructing his scholars herein, charging them not 
to neglect these divine affairs, which chiefly concern 
man, to mind or inquire after such things as are without 
in the visible world. He taught the use of outward 
things only as they were necessary to life and commerce; 
forbidding superfluities and curiosities.* He was mar- 
tyred for his doctrine, after having lived seventy years the 
most admired, followed, and visited, of all men in his 
time, by kings and commonwealths ; and than whom, 
antiquity mentions none with more reverence and ho- 
nour. Well were it for poor England, if her conceited 
Christians were true Socrateses ; whose strict, just, and 
self-denying life doth not bespeak him more famous, 
tl^an it will Christians infamous at the revelation of the 
righteous judgment ; where Heathens virtue shall ag- 
gravate Christians intemperance ; and their humility, 
the others excessive pride: and justly too, since a 
Greater than Socrates is come, whose name they pro^ 
fess, but they will not obey his law.f 

Sect. 65. Plato, that famous philosopher and scho- 
lar to Socrates, was so grave, and devoted to divine 
things, nay, so discreetly politic, that in his com- 
monwealth he would not so much as harbour poe- 
tical fancies, much less open stages as being too 
effeminate, and apt to withdraw the minds of youth 
from more noble, more manly, as well as more hea- 
venly exercises. J Plato, seeing a young man play at 
dice, reproved him sharply ; the other answered, What! 
for so small a matter ? Custom, saith Plato, is no small 



• Xen. Mem. l.p,710. t ^en. Mem. 4. Plato de Le^ib 

|| Plato de Rep. 



Part I!. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. £77 

thing : let idle hours be spent more usefully. Let youth, 
said he, take delight in good things ; for pleasures 
are the baits of evil. Observe ; the momentary sweet- 
ness of a delicious life is followed with eternal sorrow ; 
the short pain of the contrary with eternal pleasure.* 
Being commanded to put on a purple garment by the 
king of Sicily, he refused, saying, He was a man, and 
scorned such effeminacies. Inviting Timothy, the Athe- 
nian general, to supper, he treated him with herbs, wa- 
ter, and such spare diet as he was accustomed to eat. 
Timothy's friends next day, laughing, asked, how he 
was entertained ? he answered, Never better in his life ; 
for he slept all night after his supper: thereby com- 
mending his temperance. He addicted himself to reli- 
gious contemplations ; and is said to have lived a virtu- 
ous and single life, always eyeing and obeying the 
Mind, which he sometimes called God, the Father of 
all things ; affirming. Who lived so, shouldjbecome Hke 
him, and so be re;atedto, and joined with, the Divinity 
itself.f This same Plato, upon his dying-bed, sent for 
his friends about him, and told them, the whole world 
was out of the way, in that they understood not, nor re- 
garded, the Mind, that is, God, or the word, or Begot- 
ten of God, assuring them, Those men died most com- 
fortably, that lived most conformable to Right Reason, 
and sought and adored the First Cause, meaning God. 

Sect. 66. ANTisTRENfis, an Athenian Philosopher, 
had taught in the study of eloquence several years ; but 
upon hearing Socrates treat of the seriousness of reli- 
gion, of the divine life, eternal rewards, &.c. '' bade all 
his scholars seek them a new master ; for he had found 
one for himself." Wherefore selling his estate, he dis- 
tributed it to the poor, and betook hirnself wholly to the 
consideration of heavenly things ; going cheerfully six 
miles every day to hear Socrates. f — But where are the 
like preachers and converts amongst the people called 



* Dio.cr. Laert. in vit. Xen. Crat. Stub. JEVmn. 

t Alcinous. I Laert. vit. Socr. iElian. 



2r8 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

Christians ? Observe the daily pains of Socrates ; surely 
he did not study a week to read a written sermon : we 
are assured of the contrary ; for it was frequent with 
him to preach to the people, at any time of the day, in 
the very streets, as occasion served, and his Good Ge- 
nius moved him. Neither was he an hireling, or cove- 
tous ; for he did it gratis : surely then he had not 
fat benefices, tithes, glebes, he. And let the self-denial 
and diligence of Antisthenes be considered, who, of a 
philosopher and master, became a scholar, and that a 
daily one : surely, it was then matter of reproach, as it 
is now : shewing thereby both want of knowledge, 
though called a philosopher, and his great desire to ob- 
tain it of one that could teach him. None of these used 
to go to plays, balls, treats, &c. They found more se- 
rious employments for their minds, and were examples 
of temperance to the world. I will repeat some of his 
grave sentences, as reported by Laertius and others, 
namely. That those only are noble who are virtuous. 
That virtue was self-sufficient to happiness. That it 
ponsisteth in actions, not requiring many words, nor 
much learning, and is self-sufficient to wisdom : for 
that all other things have reference thereunto. That 
men should not govern by force, nor by laws, unless 
good, but by justice. To a friend complaining he had 
lost his notes, Thou shouldest have writ them upon 
thy mind, saith he, and not in a book. Those who 
"Would never die, must live justly and piously. Being 
asked. What learning was best ? That saith he, which 
unlearneih evil. To one that praised a life full of 
pleasures and delicacies : Let the sons of my enemies, 
saith he, live delicately : counting it the greatest mi- 
sery. We ought, says he, to aim at such pleasures as 
follow honest labour ; and not those which go before 
it.**^ When at any time he saw a woman richly dres- 
sed, he would, in a way of reproach, bid her husband 
bring out his horse and arms : meaning, if he were 
prepared to justify the injuries such wantonness useth 

* Stob. ibid. lir. Diog. Laert 



P.\rtIL no cross, no crown. 270 

to produce, he might the better allow those dangerous 
freedoms : otherwise, saith he, pluck oiF her rich and 
gaudy attire. He is said to exclaim bitterly against 
pleasures ; often saying, I had rather be mad, than 
addicted to pleasure, and spend my days in decking 
and feeding my carcass. Those, says he, who have 
once learned the way to temperance and virtue, let 
them not offer to entangle themselves again with fruit- 
less stories, and vain learning ; nor be addicted to cor- 
poral delicacies, which will dull the mind, and will di- 
vert and hinder them from the pursuit of those more no- 
ble and heavenly virtues.* Upon the death of his be- 
loved master, Socrates, he instituted a sect called Cy- 
nics ; out of whom came the great sect of the Stoics : 
both which had these common principles, which they 
daily, with great and unwearied diligence, did maintain, 
and instruct people in the knowledge of, viz. No man 
is wise or happy, but the good and virtuous man. That 
not much learning, nor study of many things, was ne- 
cessary. That a wise man is never drunk nor mad : 
that he never sinneth. That a wise man is void of pas- 
sion ; that he is sincere, religious, grave : that he only 
is divine. That such only are priests and prophets* who 
liave God in themselves. And that his law is imprinted 
in their minds, and the minds of all men. That such 
an one only can pray ; is innocent, meek, temperate, 
ingenuous, noble ; a good magistrate, father, son, mas- 
ter, servant, and worthy of praise. On the contrary, 
that wicked men can be none of these. " That the same 
belongs to men and women. "f 

Their diet was slender, their food only what would 
satisfy nature. Their garments exceeding mean. Their 
habitations solitary and homely. They affirmed, those 
who lived with fewest things, and vi^ere contented, most 
nearly approached God, who wants nothing. They vo- 
luntarily despised riches, glory, and nobility, as foolish 
shews, and vain fictions, that had no true and solid 



* Agel. lib. 9. c. 5. f Laert. vir. mem. Laert. Plut. de rep. Stol. 

Stob. Cic. de Nat. Deo. Kb. u. Lect. de Ira Dei, cap. 10. 



280 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

worth or happiness in them. They made all things to be 
good and evil, and flatly denied the idle stories of fortune 
and chance.* 

Certainly these were they, who having no external 
law, "became a law unto themselves ;" and did not 
abuse the knowledge they had of the invisible God ; 
but to their capacities instructed men in the knowledge 
of that righteous, serious, solid, and heavenly Principle, 
which leads to true and everlasting happiness all those 
that embrace it. 

Sect. 67. Xenocrates refused Alexander's present, 
yet treated his ambassadors after his temperate and 
spare manner ; saying, You see I have no need of your 
master's bounty, that am so well pleased with this. He 
would say. That one ought not to carry one's eyes or 
one's hands into another man's house ; that is, be a 
busy- body. That one ought to be most circumspect of 
one's actions before children, lest by example, one's 
faults should out-live one's self. He said, Pride was 
the greatest obstruction to true knowledge. His chastity 
and integrity were remarkable, and reverenced in 
Athens : Phryne, the famous Athenian courtezan, 
could not place a temptation upon him ; nor Philip, 
king of Macedon, a bribe ; though the rest sent in the 
embassy were corrupted. And being once brought for 
a witness, the judges rose up, and cried out, Tender no 
oath to Xenocrates, for he will speak the truth I A res- 
pect they did not allow to one another. Holding his 
peace at some detracting discourse, they asked him, why 
he spoke not ? Because, saith he, I have sometimes re- 
pented of speaking, but never of holding my peace, f 

Sect. 68. BioN would say. That great men walk in 
slippery places. That it is a great mischief not to bear 
aiftiction. That ungodliness is an enemy to assurance. 



* Plut. PL Ph. 16. Cic. Tusc. Qiiest. 4. Diocf. Laert. vit. Mem. Stob. 
f Laert. Val. Max. 4, 3.2. 16. Cic. pro Fal. Va!. Max. 7. 2. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 281 

He said to a covetous man, That he did not possess his 
wealth, but his wealth possessed him ; abstaining from 
using it, as if it were another man's. In fine, That men 
ought to pursue a course of virtue, without regard to 
the praise or reproach of men. 

Sect. 69. Demon AX, seeing the great care that men 
had of their bodies, more than of their minds : They 
deck the house, saith he, but slight the master. He 
would say. That many are inquisitive after the make of 
the world, but are little concerned about their own, 
which were a science much more worthy of their pains. 
To a city that would establish the gladiators, or prize- 
fighters, he said, that they ought first to overthrow the 
Altar of Mercy : intimating the cruelty of such prac- 
tices. One asking him, why he turned philosopher ? 
Because, saith he, I am Man. He would say of the 
priests of Greece, If they could better instruct the peo- 
ple, they could not give them too much ; but if not, the 
people could not give them too little. He lamented the 
unprofitableness of good laws, by being in bad men's 
hands. 

Sect. 70. Diogenes was angry with critics, that 
were nice of words, and not of their own actions ; with 
musicians, that tune their instruments, but could not 
govern their passions ; with astrologers, that have their 
eyes in the sky, and look not to their own goings ; with 
orators that study to speak well, but not to do well ; 
with covetous men, that take care to get, but never use 
their estates ; with those philosophers, that despise 
greatness, and yet court great men ; and with those that 
sacrifice for health, and yet surfeit themselves with eat- 
ing their sacrifices. One time discoursing of the nature, 
pleasure and reward of virtue, and the people not re- 
garding what he said, he fell a singing ; at which every 
one pressed to hear : whereupon he cried out, in abhor- 
rence of their stupidity, *' O God, how much more is the 
World in love with folly, than with wisdom !" Seeing a 
mapn sprinkling himself Vvith water, after having done 



282 NO CIIOSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

some ill thing : Unhappy man ! saith he, dost thou not 
know that the errors of life are not to be washed away 
with water ? To one who said, Life is an ill thing ; he 
answered, Life is not an ill thing ; but an ill life is an 
ill thing. He was very temperate, for his bed and his 
tabic he found every where. One seeing him wash 
herbs, said, If thou hadst followed Dionysius, king of 
Sicily, thou woul iest not have needed to have washed 
herbs : he answered, If thou hadst washed herbs, thou 
needest not to have followed Dionysius. He lighted a 
candle at noon, saying, I look for a Man ; implying, 
that the world was darkened by vice, and men effemina- 
ted. To a luxurious person, that had wasted his means, 
supping upon olives : If, says he, thou hadst used to 
dine so, thou wouldst not have needed to sup so. To a 
young man dressing himself neatly : If this, saith he, be 
for the sake of men, thou art unhappy ; if for women,^ 
thou art unjust. Another time seeing an effeminate 
young man : Art thou not ashamed, saith he, to use, 
thvself worse than nature hath made thee ? she hath 
made thee a man, but thou wilt force thyself to be a wo- 
man. To one that courted a bad woman : O wretch ! 
said he, what meanest thou, to ask for that which is 
better lost than found ? To one that smelled of sweet 
unguents. Have a care, saith he, this perfume make not 
thy life stink. He compared covetous men to such as 
have the dropsy : Those are full of money, yet desire 
more ; these of water, yet thirst for more. Being ask- 
ed. What beasts were the worst ? In the field, saith he, 
bears and lions ; in the city usurers nd flatterers. At 
a feast, one giving him a great cup of wine, he threw it 
away ; for which being blamed, If I had drank it, saith 
he, not only the wine would have been lost, but I also. 
One asking him, how he might order himself best ? he 
said, By reproving those things in thyself, which thoil 
blamest in others. Another demanding, what was hard- 
est ? he answered, To know ourselves, to whom We are 
partial. An astrologer discoursing to the people of the 
wandering stars : No, saith he, it is not the stars, but 
these, pointing to the people that heard him. Beinsr 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 283 

asked, what men were most noble ? They, saith he, 
who contemn wealth, honour, and pleasure, and endure 
the contraries, to wit, poverty, scorn, pain, and death. 
To a wicked man, reproaching him for his poverty ; I 
never knew, saith he, any man punished for his pover- 
ty, but many for their wickedness. To one bewailing 
himself that he should not die in his own country ; Be 
of comfort, saith he, for the way to heaven is alike in 
every place. One day he went backwards ; w^hereat 
the people laughing. Are you not ashamed, saith he, 
to do that all your life-time, which you deride in me ? 

Sect. 71. Crates, a Theban, famous for his self- 
denial and virtue ; descended from the house of Alex- 
ander, of great estate, at least two hundred talents ; 
which, having mostly distributed among the poor citi- 
zens, he became a constant professor of the Cynic phi- 
losophy. He exceedingly inveighed against common 
women. Seeing at Delphos, a golden image, that 
Phryne, the courtezan had set up, by the gains of her 
trade, cried out. This is a trophy of the Greeks in- 
temperance. Seeing a young man highly fed, and fat j 
Unhappy youth, saith he, do not fortify thy prison. 
To another, followed by a great many parasites ; Youn^ 
man, saith he, I am sorry to see thee so much alone. 
Walking one day upon the exchange, where he be- 
held people mighty busy after their divers callings ; 
These people, saith he, think themselves happy ; but 
I am happy that have nothing to do w^ith them : for 
I place my happiness in poverty, not in riches.* Oh ! 
men do not know how much a wallet, a measure of 
lupins, with security is worth. Of his wife Hippar- 
chia, a woman of wealth and extraction, but nobler 
for her love to true philosophy, and how they came 
together, there will be occasion to make mention in its 
place. 

* Laert, 



2^4 NO CROSS, NO crown; Part II. 

Sect. 12, Aristotle, a scholar to Plato, aiul the 
oracle of philosophy to these very times, though not so 
divinely contemplative as his master, nevertheless fol- 
lows him in this; That luxury should by good disci- 
pline be exiled human societies.* Aristotle seeing a 
youth finely drest, said, Art thou not ashamed, when 
nature hath made thee a man, to make thyself a woman t 
And to another, gazing on his fine cloak ; Why dost 
thou boast of a sheep's fleece ? He said, It was the duty 
of a good man to live so under laws, as he should do if 
there were none.f 

^Sect. 73. Mandanis, a great and famous philoso- 
pher of the Gymnosophists, whom Alexander the Great 
required to come to the feast of Jupiter's son, meaning 
himself, declaring. That if he came, he should be re- 
warded ; if not, he should be put to death. The phi- 
losopher contemned his message as vain and sordid : he 
first told them. That he denied him to be Jupiter*s son, 
a mere fiction. Next, That as for his gifts, he esteem- 
ed them nothing worth; his oWn country could furnish 
him v»^ith necessaries : beyond which he coveted no- 
thing. And lastly. As for the death he threatened, he 
did not fear it : but of the two, he wished it ratlier ; in 
that, saith he, it is a change to a more blessed and happy 
state. J 

Sect. 74. Zend, the great Stoic, and author of that 
philosophy, had many things admirable in him ; who not 
only said, but practised. He was a man of that integrity, 
and so reverenced for it by the Athenians, that they de- 
posited the keys of the city in his hands, as the only 
person fit to be entrusted with their liberties ; yet by 
birth a stranger, being of Psittacon in Cyprus.^ An- 
ligonus, king of Macedonia, had a great respect for 
him, and desired his company, as the following letter 
expresseth : 

• Stob. Strom. 45. f Stob. 161. ibid. 46. \ Slob. 161. ibid. 46 

§ itob. 161. Laert, 



Part II. NO CROS«, NO CROWN. £80 

*' King Antigonus to Zeno the philosopher, health : 
I think that I exceed thee in fortinne and glory ; but in 
learning and discipline, and that J^erfect felicity ^vhich 
thou hast attained, I am exceeded b}^ thee ; wherefore 
I thought it expedient to write to thee, that thou wilt 
come to me, assuring myself thou wilt not deny it. Use 
all means therefore to come to us ; and know thou art 
not to instruct me only, but all the Macedonians ; for 
he who teacheth the king of Macedonia, and guideth 
him to virtue, it is evident, that he doth likewise in- 
struct all his subjects in virtue : for such as is the 
prince, such for the most part are those who live under 
his government." 

Zeno answered thus : *' To king Antigonus, Zeno 
wisheth health : I much esteem thy earnest desire of 
learning, in that thou aimest at philosophy ; not popular, 
which perverteth manners ; but that true discipline 
which conferreth profit ; avoiding that generally com- 
mended pleasure, which effeminates the souls of men. 
It is manifest that thou art inclined to generous things, 
not only by nature, but by choice : with indifferent ex- 
ercise and assistance thou mayest easily attain to virtue. 
But I am very infirm of body, being fourscore years of 
age, and so not well able to come ; yet I will send thee 
some of my chief disciples, who, in those things con- 
cerning the soul, are nothing inferior to me ; and whose 
instructions, if thou wilt follow them, will conduct 
thee to perfect blessedness. "'—^^Thus Zeno refused 
Antigonus, but sent Persaus his countryman, and 
Philonides, a Theban, He would say, That nothing 
was more unseenily than pride, especially in youth, 
which was a time of learning. He therefore recom- 
mended to young men modesty in three things ; in 
their walking, in their behaviour, and in their apparel : 
often repeating those verses of Euripides, in honour of 
Capaneus : 

He was not puft up with his store : 
Nor tliought himself above the poor. 



288 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

Seeing a man very finely dressed, stepping lightly 
over a kennel ; That man, saith he, doth not care for the 
dirt, because he could not see his fare in it. He also 
taught. The people should not affect delicacy of diet, 
no not in their sickness. To one that smelt v^^ith un- 
guents ; Who is it, saith he, that smells so effeminately? 
Seeing a friend of his taken too much up with the busi- 
ness of his land ; Unless thou lose thy land, saith he, 
thy land will lose thee. Being demanded, Whether a 
man that doeth wrong, may conceal it from God ? No, 
saith he, nor yet he who thinks it. Which testifies to 
the omnipresence of God. Being asked. Who was his 
best friend? he answered, My other- self; intimating 
the Divine part that was in him. He would say, The 
end of man was not to live, eat, and drink ; but to use 
this life so, as to obtain an happy life hereafter. He w^as 
so humble, that he conversed with mean and ragged per- 
sons ; whence Timon thus ; 

And for companions gets of servants store, 
Of all men the most empty, and most poor. 

He was patient and frugal in his household expenses. 
Laertius saith, he had but one servant : Seneca avers, 
he had none. He w as mean in his clothes : in his diet 
by Philemon thus described : 

He water drinks, then broth and herbs doth eat ; 
Teaching his scholars almost without meat. 

His chastity was so eminent, that it became a proverb ; 
As chaste as Zeno. When the news of his death came 
to Antigonus, he broke forth into these words, What 
an object have I lost ? And being asked. Why he ad- 
mired him so much ? Because, saith he, though I be- 
stowed many great things upon him, he was never 
therewith exalted nor dejected. The Athenians, after 
his death, by a public decree, erected a statue to his 
memory ; it runs thus : '* Whereas Zeno, the son of 
]^anaseas, a Scythian, has professed philosophy about 



4 

Part IL NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 287 

fifty-eight years in this city, and in all things perform- 
ed the office of a good man, encouraging those young 
men, who applied themselves to him, to the love of 
virtue and temperance, leading himself a life suitable to 
the doctrine which he professed ; a pattern to the best 
to imitate ; the people have thought lit to do honour 
to Zeno, and to crown him with a crown of gold, ac- 
cording to law, in reward of his virtue and temper- 
ance, and to build a tomb for him, publicly in the 
Ceramick," &c. These two were his epitaphs, one by 
Antipater : 

Here Zeno lies, who tall Olympus scal'd ; 

Not heaping Pelion on Ossa's head : 
Nor by Herculean labours so prevailed ; 

But found out virtue's paths, which thither led. 

The other by Xenodotus, the Stoic, thus : 

Zeno, thy years to hoary age were spent, 
Not with vain riches, but with self-content. 

Sect. 75. Seneca, a great and excellent philosopher 
who, with Epictetus, shall conclude the testimonies of 
the men of their character, hath so much to our purpose, 
that his works are but a kind of continued evidence 
for us : he saith. Nature was not so much an enemy, as 
to give an easy passage of life to all other creatures, and 
that man alone should not live without so many arts : 
she hath commanded us none of these things. We 
have made all things difficult to us, by disdaining 
things that are easy : houses, clothes, meats, and nou- 
rishment of bodies, and those things which are now the 
care of life, were easy to come by, freely gotten, and 
prepared with a light labour : for the measure of these 
things was necessity, not voluptuousness : but we have 
made them pernicious and admirable : they must be 
sought with art and skill. Nature sufficeth to that which 
she requireth. 



283 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

Appetite hath revolted from nature, which continu- 
ally inciteth itself, and increases with the ages, helping 
vice by wit. First, it began to desire superfluous, then 
contrary things : last of all, it sold the mind to the body, 
and commanded it to serve the lusts thereof. All these 
arts, wherewith the city is continually set at work, and 
maketh such a stir, do centre in the affairs of the body, 
to which all things were once performed as to a Servant, 
but now are provided as for a Lord. Hence the shops 
of engravers, perfumers, &c. hence of those that teach 
effeminate motions of the body ; and vain and wanton 
songs : for natural behaviour is despised, which com- 
pleted desires with necessary help : now it is clownish - 
ness and ill-breeding, to be contented with as much as is 
requisite. What shall I speak of rich marbles curiously 
wrought, wherewith temples and houses do shine ? what 
of stately galleries, and rich furniture ? These are but 
the devices of most vile slaves, the inventions of men, 
not of wise men : for wisdom sits deeper ; it is the mis- 
tress of the mind. Wilt thou know what things she hath 
found out, what she hath made ? Not unseemly mo- 
tions of the body, nor variable singing by trumpet or 
flute ; nor yet weapons, wars, or fortifications : she en- 
deavoureth profitable things ; she favours peace, and 
calls all mankind to an agreement : she leadeth to a bles- 
sed estate : she openeth the way to it, and shews what 
is evil from what is good, and chaseth vanity out of the 
mind : she giveth solid greatness, but debaseth that 
which is puffed up, and would be seen of men : she 
bringeth forth the '* Image of God to be seen in the 
souls of men:" and so from corporeal, she translateth 
into incorporeal things. Thus in the 90th epistle to 
Lucilius. — To Gallio, he writeth thus : ** All men, 
brother Gallio, are desirous to live happy ; yet blind 
to the means of that blessedness, as long as we wander 
hither and thither, and follow not our guide, but the 
dissonant clamour of those that call on us to undertake 
different ways. Our short life is wearied and worn 
away amongst errors, although we labour to get us a 
good mind. There is nothing therefore to be more 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWxX. 289 

avoided, than following the multitude without exami- 
nation, and believing any thing without judging. Let 
us inquire what is best to be done, not what is most 
usually done ; and what planted us in the possession of 
eternal felicity ; not what is ordinarily allowed of by 
the multitude, which is the worst interpreter of truth. 
I call the Multitude as well those that are clothed in 
White, as those in other colours : for I examine not the 
colours of the garments, wherewith their bodies are 
clothed : I trust not mine eyes to inform me what a 
man is ; *' I liave a better and truer Light, whereby I 
can distinguish truth from falsehood." Let the soul find 
out the Good of the soul. If onee she may have lei- 
sure to withdraw into herself, oh ! how will she confess, 
I wish all I have done were undone ; and all I have said, 
when I recollect it, I am ashamed of it, when I now 
hear the like in others. These things below, whereat 
we gaze, and w^hereat we stay, and which one man 
with admiration shews unto another, do outwardly 
shine, but are inwardly empty. Let us seek out some- 
vihat that is good, not in appearance, but solid, united 
and best, in that which least appears : let us discover 
this. Neither is it far from us ; we shall find it, if we 
seek it. For it is wisdom, not to wander from that Im- 
mortal Nature, but to form ourselves according to his. 
law and example. Blessed is the man who judgeth 
rightly : blessed is he who is contented with his present 
condition : and blessed is he who giveth ear to that im- 
mortal principle, in the government of his life." An 
whole volume of these excellent things hath he written. 
No wonder a man of his doctrine and life, escaped not 
the cruelty of brutish Nero, under whom he suffered 
death ; as also did the apostle Paul, with whom, it is 
said, Seneca had conversed. When Nero's messen» 
ger brought him the news that he was to die ; with a 
composed and undaunted countenance he received the 
errand, and presently called for pen, ink, and paper, to 
write his last will and testament ; which the captain re- 
fusing, he turned towards his friends, and took his leave 
thus : '' Since, my loving friends, I cannot bequeath you 



290 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. P^rt II. 

any other thing in acknowledgment of vv hat I owe you, 
I leave you at least the richest and best portion I have, 
that is, The Image of my Manners and Life ; which 
doing, you will obtain true happiness." His friends 
shewing great trouble for the loss of him, Where, saith 
he, are those memorable precepts of philosophy ; and 
what is become of those provisions, which for so many 
years together we have laid up against the brunts and 
afflictions of providence ? Was Nero's cruelty unknown 
to us ? What could we expect better at his hands, that 
killed his brother, and murdered his mother, but that 
he would also put his tutor and governor to death ? 
Then turning to his wife, Pompeja Paulina, a Romaa 
lady, young and noble, beseeched her, for the love she 
bore him and his philosophy, to suffer patiendy his af- 
fliction ; For, saith he, my hour is come, wherein I must 
shew, not only by discourse, but by death, the fruit I 
have reaped by my meditations. I embrace it without 
grief; wherefore do not dishonour it with thy tears. 
Assuage thy sorrow, and comfort thyself in the know-- 
ledge thou hast had of me, and of my actions ; and lead 
the rest of thy life with that honest industry thou hast 
addicted thyself unto. And dedicating his life to God, 
he expired. 

Sect. 76. Epictetus, contemporary with Seneca, 
and an excellent man, thought no man worthy of the 
profession of Philosophy, that was not purified from the 
errors of his nature. His morals were very excellent, 
which he comprised under these two words, Sustaining 
and Abstaining ; or Bearing and Forbearing : To avoid 
evil, and patiently to suffer afflictions : which do certain- 
ly comprise the Christian doctrine and life, and are the 
perfection of the best philosophy that was at any time 
taught by Egyptians, Greeks, or Romans, when it sig- 
nified virtue, self-denial, and a life of religious solitude 
and contemplation. 

How little the Christians of the times are true philo- 
sophers, and how much more these philosophers were 
Christianjs than they, let the Righteous Principle in 



Part IL NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 291 

every conscience judge. But is it not then intolerable 
that they should be esteemed Christians, who are yet to 
learn to be good Heathens, that prate of Grace and 
Nature, and know neither ; who will presume to deter- 
mine what is become of Heathens, and know not where 
they are themselves, nor mind what may become of 
them ; that can run readily over a tedious list of famous 
personages, and calumniate such as will not, with them, 
celebrate their memories with extravagant and superflu- 
ous praises, whilst they make it laudable to act the con- 
trary ; and none so ready a way to become vile, as not 
to be vitious ? A strange paradox, but too true : so 
blind, so stupified, so besotted are the foolish sensualists 
of the world, under their great pretences to religion, 
faith and worship. Ah ! did they but know the peace, 
the joy, the unspeakable ravishments of soul, that inse- 
parably attend the innocent, harmless, still and retired 
life of Jesus ; did they but weigh within themselves the 
authors of their vain delights and pastimes, the nature 
and disposition they are so grateful to, the dangerous 
consequence of exercising the mind and its aiFections 
below, and arresting and taking them up from their due 
attendance and obedience to the most holy crying voice 
in their consciences, '' Repent, Return : All is vanity 
and vexation of spirit. Were but these things reflected 
upon ; were the incessant wooings of Jesus, and his im- 
portunate knocks and intreaties, by his Light and Grace, 
at the door or their hearts, but kindly answered, and He 
admitted to take up his abode there ; and lastly, were 
such resolved to give up to the instructions and holy 
guidance of his Eternal Spirit, in all the humble, hea- 
venly, and righteous conversation it requires, and of 
which he is become our captain and example ; then, oh! 
then, both root and branch of vanity, the nature that in- 
vented, and that which delights herself therein, with all 
the follies themselves, would be consumed and vanish. 
But they, alas! cheat themselves by misconstrued scrip- 
tures, and daub with the untempeifd mortar of misap- 
plied promises. They will be saints, whilst they are 



2,92 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

sinners ; and in Christ, whilst in the spirit of the 
world, walking after the flesh, and not after the Spirit, 
by which the true children of God are led. My friends, 
mind the Just Witness and Holy Principle in yourselves, 
that you may experimentally know more of the divine 
life ; in which, and not in a multitude of vain repetitions, 
true and solid feHcity eternally consists. 

IV. Nor is this reputation, wisdom, and virtue, only 
to be attributed to Men : there were Women also, in 
the Greek and Roman ages, that honoured their sex by 
great examples of meekness, prudence, and chastity : 
and which I do the rather mention, that the honour sto- 
ry yields to their virtuous conduct may raise an allow- 
able emulation in those of their own sex, at least to equal 
the noble character given them by antiquity. I will be- 
gin w^ith 

Sect. 77. Penelope, wife to Ulysses, a woman emi- 
nent for her beauty and quality, but more for her singu- 
lar chastity. Her husband was absent from her twenty 
years ; partly in service of his country, and partly in ex- 
ile ; and being believed to be dead, she was earnestly 
sought by divers lovers, and pressed by her parents to 
change her condition ; but all the importunities of the 
one, or persuasions of the other, not prevailing, her 
lovers seemed to use a kind of violence, that where they 
could not entice, they w^ould compel ; to which she 
yielded, upon this condition ; That they would not 
press her to marry, till she had ended the work she had 
in hand : which they granting, she undid by night what 
'she wTought by day ; and with that honest device she 
delayed their desire, till her worthy husband returned, 
whom she received, though in beggar's clothes, with an 
heart full of love and truth. A constancy that reproaches 
too many of the women of the times, who, without the 
excuse of such an absence, can violate their husbands 
beds. Her work thews the industry and employment, 
even of the w omen of great quality in those times ; 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 293 

whilst those of the present age despise such honest la- 
bour, as mean and mechanical. ^* 

Sect. 78. The OXEN A, a woman of great virtue, 
being in a place encompassed by the armies of the king 
of Macedonia, finding she could not escape their hands, 
rather than fall under the power of his soldiers to be 
defiled, chose to die : and therefore flying into the sea, 
delivered her life up in the waters ; thereby choosing 
death, rather than save her life with the hazard of her 
virtue. 

Sect. 79. Pandora and Protogenia, two virtuous 
daughters of an Athenian king, seeing their country 
like to be over-run by its enemies^ freely offered their 
lives in sacrifice, to appease the fury of their enemies, 
for the preservation of their country. 

Sect. 80. HipPARCHiA, a fair Macedonian virgin, 
noble of blood, as they term it, but more truly noble of 
mind, I cannot omit to mention ; who entertained so 
earnest an affection for Crates, the Cynical philosopher, 
as well for his severe life as excellent discourse, that 
by no means could her relations nor suitors, by all their 
wealth, nobility and beauty dissuade her from being his 
companion : upon which strange resolution, they all be- 
took themselves to Crates, beseeching him to shew him- 
self a true philosopher, in persuading her to desist : 
which he strongly endeavoured by many arguments : 
but not prevailing went his way, and brought all the lit- 
tle furniture of his house, and shewed her : This, saith 
he, is thy husband ; that the furniture of thy house : 
consider on it, for thou canst not be mine, unless thou 
foUowest the same course of life : for, being rich above 
twenty talents, which is more than fifty thousand pounds, 
he neglected all, to follow a retired life : all which had 
so contrary an affect, that she immediately went to him, 
before them all, and said, I seek not the pomp and effe- 
minacy of this world, but knowledge and virtue. Crates ; 
and choose a life of temperance, before a life of delica- 



294 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

cies : for true satisfaction, thou knovvest, is in the mind ; 
and that pleasure is only worth seeking that lasts for ever. 
Thus was it, she became the constant companion both 
of his love and life, his friendship and his virtues ; tra- 
velling with him from place to place, and performing 
the public exercises of instruction with Crates, wher- 
ever they came. She was a most violent enemy to all 
impiety, but especially to wanton men and women, and 
those whose garb and conversation shewed them devoted 
to vain pleasures and pastimes : effeminacy rendering 
the like persons not only unprofitable, but pernicious to 
the whole world. Which she as well made good by the 
example of her exceeding industry, temperance, and se- 
verity, as those are wont to do by their intemperance and 
folly : for ruin of health, estates, virtue, and loss of eter- 
nal happiness, have ever attended, and ever will attend, 
such earthly minds. 

Sect. 81. LucRETiA, a most chaste Roman dame, 
whose name and virtue is known, by that tragedy that 
follows them. For Sextus, the son of Tarquin the 
Proud king of Rome, hearing it was her custom to work 
late in her chamber, did there attempt her, with his 
sword in his hand, vowing he would run her through : 
and put one of his servants in the posture of lying with 
her, on purpose to defame her, if she would not yield to 
his lusts Having forced his wicked end, she sends for her 
father, then governor of Rome, her husband and her 
friends, to whom having revealed the matter, and with 
tears lamented her irreparable calamity, she slew herself 
in their presence ; that it might not be said Lucretia 
out-lived her chastity, even when she could not defend 
it. I praise the virtue, not the act. But God soon 
avenged this, with other impieties upon that wicked fa- 
mily ; for the people hearing what Sextus had done, 
whose flagitious life they equally hated with his father's 
tyranny, and their sense of both, aggravated by the re- 
verence they conceived for the chaste and exemplary life 
of Lucretia, betook themselves to their arms ; and headed 
}f}Y her father, her husband, Brutus and Valerius, they 



Part IL NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 295 

drove out that Tarquin family : in which action the hand 
of Brutus avenged the blood of Lucretia upon infamous 
Sextus, whom he slew in the battle. 

Sect. 82. Cornelia, also a noble Roman matron, 
and sister to Scipio, was esteemed the most famous and 
honourable personage of her time, not more for the 
greatness of her birth, than her exceeding temperance. 
And history particularly mentions this, as one great in- 
stance of her virtue, for which she was so much ad- 
mired, to wit. That she never was accustomed to wear 
rich apparel, but such apparel as was very plain and 
grave ; rather making her children, whom her instruc- 
tions and example had made virtuous, her greatest or- 
naments : a good pattern for the vain and wanton dames 
of the age. 

Sect. 83. PoNTiA was another Roman dame, re- 
nowned for her singular modesty : for though Octavius 
attempted her with all imaginable allurements and per- 
suasions, she chose rather to die by his cruelty than be 
polluted by his lust. So he took her life, that could not 
violate her chastity. 

Sect. 84. Arria, wife to Cecinna Psetus, is not less 
famous in story for the magnanimity she shewed, in be- 
ing the companion of her husband's disgraces, who 
thrust herself into prison with him, that she might be his 
servant ; and shewed him first by death to be revenged 
of the tvrant. 

Sect. 85. PoMPEiA Plautina, wife to Julianus 
the emperor, commended for her compassion of the poor, 
used the power her virtue had given her with her husband, 
to put him upon all the just and tender things that be- 
came his charge, and to dissuade him from whatsoever 
seemed harsh to the people : particularly, she diverted 
him from a great tax his flatterers advised him to lay up- 
on the people. 



296 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

Sect. 86. Plotina, the wife of Trajan, a woman, 
saith a certain author, adorned with piety, chastity, and 
all the virtues that a woman is capable of. There are 
two instances ; one of her piety, the other of her chastity. 
The first is this : When her husband was proclaim- 
ed emperor, she mounted the Capitol after the choice ; 
where, in a religious manner, she said, *' Oh, that I 
may live under all this honour, with the same virtue and 
content that I enjoyed before I had it!'* The second 
is this : Her husband being once exiled, she caused 
her hair to be cut short, as the men wore it, that with less 
notice and danger she might be the companion of his 
banishment. 

Sect. 87. PoMPEiA Paulina, a Roman lady of 
youth and beauty, descended of the most noble families 
of Rome, fell in love with Seneca, for the excellency of 
his doctrine, and the gravity and purity of his manners. 
They married, and lived great examples together to 
both their sexes. So great was her value for her hus- 
band, and so little did she care to live when he was to 
die, that she chose to be the companion of his death as 
she had been of his life : and her veins were cut as 
well as his, whilst, she was the auditor of his excellent 
discourses ; but Nero hearing of it, and fearing lest Pau- 
lina's death might bring him great reproach, because 
of her noble alliance in Rome, sent with all haste to have 
her wounds closed, and if it were possible to save her 
life : which, though as one half dead, was done, and 
she against her w^ill lived ; but always with a pale hue, 
and wan complexion of face, to tell how much of her life 
was gone with Seneca, her dearest friend, philosopher, 
and husband. 

Sect. 88. Thus may the voluptuous women of the 
times read their reproof in the character of a brave 
Heathen ; and learn, that solid happiness consists in a 
neglect of wealth and greatness, and a contempt of all 
corporal pleasures, as more befitting beasts than immor- 
tal spirits : and which are loved by none but such, as 
not knowing the excellency of heavenly things, are 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 297 

both inventing and delie;hting, like brutes, in that which 
perisheth : giving the preference to poor mortality, and 
spending their lives to gratify the lusts of a little dirty 
flesh and blood, ** that shall never enter into the kingdom 
of heaven :'* by all which their minds become dark- 
ened, and so insensible of more celestial glories, that 
they do not only refuse to inquire after them, but 
infamously scoff" and despise those that do, as a fool- 
ish and mad people : to that strange degree of dark- 
ness and impudence this age has got. But if the 
exceeding temperance, chastity, virtue, industry, and 
contentedness of very Heathens, with the plain and 
necessary enjoyments God has been pleased to vouch- 
safe the sons and daughters of men, as sufficient to 
their wants and conveniency, that they may be the 
more at leisure, to answer the great end of their 
being born, will not suffice, but that they will ex- 
ceed the bounds, precepts, and examples, both of 
Heathens and of Christians, anguish and tribulation 
will overtake them when they shall have an eternity to 
think upon, with gnashing teeth, what to all eternity 
they can never remedy : these dismal wages are decreed 
for them who so far affront God, heaven and eternal fe- 
licity, as to neglect their salvation from sin here, and 
wrath to come, for the enjoyment of a few fading plea- 
sures. For such to think, notwithstanding their lives 
of sense and pleasure, wherein their minds become 
slaves to their bodies, that they shall be everlastingly 
happy, is an addition to their evils ; since it is a great 
abuse to the holy God, that men and women should be- 
lieve him an eternal companion of their carnal and sen- 
sual minds : for, *' as the tree falls, so it lies ;" and as 
death leaves men, judgment finds them : and there is no 
repentance in the grave. Therefore I beseech you, to 
whom this comes, to retire : withdraw a while ; let not 
the body see all, taste all, enjoy all ; but let the soul 
see too, taste and enjoy those heavenly comforts and 
refreshments, proper to that eternal world of which she 
is an inhabitant, and where she must ever abide in a 
state of peace or plagues, when this visible one shall be 
dissolved. 



298 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 



CHAP. XX. 



Sect. 1. The doctrine of Christ from Matt. v. about denial of 
self. 2. John Baptist's example. 3. The testimonies of 
the apostle Peter, &c. 4. Paul's godly exhortation against 
pride, covetousness, and luxury. 5. The primitive Chris- 
tians non-conformity to the world. 6. Clemens Romanus 
against the vanity of the Gentiles. 7. Machiavel of the 
zeal of the primitive Christians. 8. Tertullian, Chrysostorn, 
&c. on Matt. xii. 36. 9. Gregory Nazianzene. 10. Jerom. 
11. Hilary. 12. Ambrose. 13. Augustine. 14. Council 
of Carthage. 15. Cardan. 16. Gratian. 17. Petrus Bel- 
lonius. 18. Waldenses. 19. What they understood by Dai- 
ly Bread in the Lord's Prayer. 20. Their judgment con- 
cerning Taverns. 21. Dancing, Music, &c. 22. An epistle 
of Bartholomew Tertian to the Waldensian churches, &c. 23. 
Their extreme suffering and faithfulness. Their degeneracy 
reproved that call them their ancestors. 24. Paulinus, 
bishop of Nola, relieving slaves and prisoners. 25. Acacius, 
bishop of Amida, his charity to enemies. 

JlIAVING abundantly shewn, how much the doctrine 
and conversation of the virtuous Gentiles condemn the 
pride, avarice and luxury of the professed Christians of 
the times ; I shall, in the next place, to discharge my 
engagement, and farther fortify this discourse, present 
my reader with the judgment and practice of the most 
Christian times ; as also of eminent writers both ancient 
and modern. I shall begin with the blessed author of 
that religion.* 

* The doctrine and practice of the blessed Lord Jesus and his apostles? 
the primitive Christians, and those of more modern times in favour of this dis- 
course. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 299 

Sect. 1. Jesus Christ, in whose mouth there was 
found no guile, sent from God, with a testimony of love 
to mankind, and who laid down his life for their salva- 
tion ; whom God hath raised by his mighty power to be 
Lord of all, is of right to be first heard in this matter ; 
'* for never man spake like him," to our point ; short, 
clear and close ; and all opposite to the way of this wick- 
ed world. Blessed, says he, are the poor in *' spirit, 
for theirs is the kingdom of God:" he doth not say, 
Blessed are the proud, the rich, the high-minded : here 
is humility and the fear of the Lord blest. *' Blessed 
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted :" he 
doth not say. Blessed are the feasters, dancers, and re- 
vellers of the world, whose life is swallowed up of plea- 
sure and jollity : no, as he was a man of sorrows, so he 
blessed the godly -sorrowful. *' Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth :" he doth not say. Bles- 
sed are the ambitious, the angry, and those that are puff- 
ed up : he makes not the earth a blessing to them : and 
though they get it by conquest and rapine, it will at last 
fall into the hands of the meek to inherit. Again, '' Bles- 
sed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness :" but no blessing to the hunger and thirst of the 
luxurious man. '' Blessed are the merciful, for they shall 
obtain mercy : " he draws men to tenderness and forgive- 
ness by reward. Hast thou one in thy power that hath 
wronged thee ? be not rigorous, exact not the utmost 
farthing ; be merciful, and pity the afflicted, for such 
are blessed. Yet farther, '* Blessed are the pure in 
heart, for they shall see God :" he doth not say. Blessed 
are the proud, the covetous, the unclean, the voluptu- 
ous, the malicious: no, such shall never see God. 
Again, ** Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be 
called the children of God :" he doth not say, Blessed 
are the contentious, back-biters, tale-bearers, brawlers, 
fighters, makers of war ; neither shall they be called the 
children of God,, whatever they may call themselves. 
Lastly, *' Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, 
and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against 
you falsely, for mv sake ; rejoice and be exceeding glad, 

Qq 



300 NO CROSS, NO CROWN, Part XL 

for great is your reward in heaven :"'' he bless£th the 
troubles of his people, and translates earthly sufferings 
into heavenly rewards. He doth not say, Blessed are 
you when the world speaks well of you, and fawns upon 
you : so that his blessings cross the world's ; for the 
world blesseth those as happy, that have the world's fa- 
vour ; He blesseth those as happy that have the world's 
frowns. This solveth the great objection, '' Why are 
you so foolish to expose yourselves to the law, to incur 
the displeasure of magistrates, and suffer the loss of your 
estates and liberties ? Cannot a man serve God in his 
heart, and do as others do ? Are you wiser than your 
forefathers ? call to mind your ancestors. Will you 
question their salvation by your novelties, and forget the 
future good of your wife and children, as well as sacri- 
fice the present comforts of your life, to hold up the 
credit of a party ?" a language I liave more than once 
heard : I say, this doctrine of Christ is an answer and 
antidote against the power of this objection. He teach- 
es us to embrace truth under all those scandals. The 
Jews had more to say of this kind than any, whose way 
had a more extraordinary institution ; but Christ minds 
not either institution or succession. He was a New 
Man, and came to consecrate a New^ Way, and that in 
the will of God ; and the power that accompanied his 
ministry, and that of his followers, abundantly proved 
the divine authority of his mission, who thereby warns 
his to expect and to bear contradiction, reviling, and 
persecution ; for if they did it to the Green tree, much 
more were they to expect that they would do it to the 
Dry : if to the Lord, then to the servant. 

Why then should Christians fear that reproach and 
tribulation, that are the companions of his religion, since 
they work to his sincere followers a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory ? But indeed they have great 
cause to fear and be ashamed, who are the authors of such 
reproach and suffering, so contrary to the meek and mer- 
ciful spirit of Christ : for if they are blessed who are re- 

a Matt. V. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 301 

viled and persecuted for his sake ; the revilers and perse- 
cutors must be cursed. But this is not all : he bade his 
disciples '' follow him, learn of him, for he was meek 
and lowly :" he taught them to bear injuries, and not 
smite again ; to exceed in kindness ; to go two miles, 
when asked to go one ; to part with cloak and coat too ; 
to give to them that ask, and to lend to them that borrow ; 
to forgive, aye, and love enemies too; commanding them, 
saying, " Bless them that curse you ; do good to them 
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use 
you, and persecute you :"^ urging them with a most 
sensible demonstration, '' That," saith he, '' you may 
be the children of your Father which is in heaven ; 
for he maketh the sun to rise upon the good and the 
evil, and his rain to descend upon the just and the un- 
just." He also taught his disciples to believe and rely 
upon God's Providence, from the care that he had over 
the least of his creatures : '' Therefore," saith he, I 
say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you 
shall eat, and what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, 
what you shall put on : is not the life more than meat, 
and the body, than raiment ? Behold the fowls of the air ; 
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into 
barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them ; are 
you not much better than they ? Which of you by taking 
thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? And why 
take you thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of 
the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they 
spin : and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all 
his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Where- 
fore, if God so clotheth the grass of the field, which to- 
day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not 
much more clothe you ? O ye of little faith ! Therefore 
take no thought, saying. What shall we eat, or what 
shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed ? 
for after all those things do the Gentiles seek, for your 
heavenly Father knoweththat you have need of all these 
things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and 

^ Matt. V. 



302 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

his righteousness, and all these things shall be added 
unto you. Take, therefore, no thought for to-morrow, 
for to-morrow shall take thought for the things of itself; 
sufficient is the day for the evil thereof. '"^ Oh ! how plain, 
how sweet, how full, yet how brief, are his blessed sen- 
tences ! they thereby shew from whence they came, and 
that Divinity itself spoke them. What are laboured, 
what are forced and scattered in the best of other wri- 
ters, and not all neither, are here comprized after a na- 
tural, easy, and conspicuous manner. He sets nature 
above art, and trust above care. This is he that him- 
self came poor into the world, and so lived in it : he 
lay^ in a manger, conversed with mechanics ; fasted 
much, retired often : and when he feasted, it was with 
barley loaves and fish, dressed doubtless in an easy and 
homely manner. He was solitary in his life, in his death 
ignominious: " The foxes had holes, the birds of the 
air had nests, but the Son of Man had not a place where- 
on to lay his head." He that made all things as God, 
had nothing as Man. Which hath this blessed instruc- 
tion in it, that the meanest and poorest should not be 
dejected, nor yet the richest and highest be exalted. In 
fine, having taught this doctrine, and lived as he spoke, 
he died to confirm it ; and offered up himself a propiti- 
ation for the *' sins of the whole world," when no other 
sacrifice could be found that could atone for man with 
God : who, rising above the power of death and the 
grave, hath led captivity captive, and is become the 
First-born from the dead, and Lord of the living ; and 
his living people praise him, who is worthy for ever. 

Sect. 2. John the Baptist, who was the fore-runner 
of Christ's appearance in the flesh, did by his own absti- 
nence sufficiently declare what sort of person it was he 
came to prepare and bespeak people to receive. For, 
though sanctified in his mother's womb, and declared by 
Christ to be the greatest of all prophets, yet his clothing 
was but a coarse garment of camel's hair, and a leathern 

f Matt. vi. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 303 

girdle, and his food only locusts and wild honey : a life 
very natural, and of great simplicity. This was all the 
pomp and retinue which the greatest ambassador that 
ever came to the world was attended with, about the 
best of messages, to wit, '' Repent, for the kingdom 
of God is at hand." And " There is One coming after 
me, whose shoes-latchet I am not worthy to unloose, 
who shall baptize you with fire, and with the Holy 
Ghost ; and is the Lamb of Gjd that taketh away the 
sin of the world. ""^ Did the fore-runner of the coming 
of God, for Emmanuel is God with men, appear with- 
out the state, grandeur, and luxury of the world ? and 
shall those who pretend to receive the message, and that 
for glad tidings too, and confess the Emmanuel, Christ 
Jesus, to be the Lord, live in the vanity and excess of the 
world, and care more for their fine clothes, delicate 
dishes, rich furniture, stately attendance, and pleasant 
diversion, than for the holy cross of Christ, and the bles- 
sed narrow way that leadeth to salvation ? Be ashamed 
and repent ! 

Sect. 3. Peter, Andrew, Philip, and the rest 
of the holy apostles, were by calling, as well as doctrine, 
not a luxurious people ; for they were made up of poor 
fishermen and mechanics : for Christ called not his dis- 
ciples out of higher ranks of men; nor had they abil- 
ity, any more than will, to use the excesses herein 
reproved. You may conceive what their lives were, 
by what their Master's doctrine was ; for they were the 
true scholars of his heavenly discipline. Peter thus 
speaks, and exhorteth the Christians of his time, ** Let 
not your adorning be that outward adorning of plaiting 
the hair, and the wearing of gold, and of putting on of 
apparel ; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in 
that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a 
meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of 
great price ; for after this manner in the old time, the 
holy women, who also trusted in God, adorned them- 

^ Mark i. 7, 8. 



304 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

selves. Wherefore gird up the loins of your minds, be 
sober, and hope to the end, as obedient children ; not 
fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts, in 
your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy, 
so be you holy in all manner of conversation ; and 
giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue ; to virtue, 
knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to 
temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and 
to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kind- 
ness, charity : for if these things be in you, and abound, 
they make you that you shall be neither barren nor un- 
fruitful : for so an entrance shall be administered unto 
you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : not rendering evil for 
evil, or railing for railing ; but contrary -wise, blessing : 
knowing that you are thereunto called, that ye should 
inherit a blessing : for even hereunto were ye called, be- 
fore Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, 
that we should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither 
was guile found in his mouth ; who, when he was revil- 
ed, he reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threaten- 
ed not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righ- 
teously." 

e 

Sect. 4. Paul, who was also an apostle, though, as 
he saith, *' born out of due time :" a man of great know- 
ledge and learning, but " I count it," saith he, " all 
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, 
and do count them but dung that I may win Christ. 
Brethren, be followers of me, and mark them which walk 
so, as ye have us for an example : for many walk, of 
whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even 
weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, 
whose end is destruction ; for their god is their belly, 
they glory in their shame, and they mind earthly things. 
For our conversation is in heaven ; from whence we 



^ 1 Pet. Ui. 3, 4. 1 Pet. i. 13, 14, 15. 2 Pet. i. 5, 12. 1 Pet, iii. 9. ch. ii. 21, 

22, 23. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 305 

look also for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. ^ In 
like manner also, I will that women adorn themselves in 
modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety ; not 
with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array ; 
but with good works, as becometh women professing 
godliness.^ Be followers of God, as dear children ; 
and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us : but 
fornication and all uncleanness, and covetousness, 
let it not be once named amongst you, as becom- 
eth saints ; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor 
jesting, which are not convenient ; but rather giving 
of thanks : for this ye know, that no whoremonger, 
unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, 
hath an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of 
God. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as 
fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days 
are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understand- 
ing what the will of the Lord is ; and be not drunk with 
wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, 
speaking to yourselves in hymns and spiritual songs, 
singing, and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. 
Rejoice in the Lord always ; and I say again, Rejoice. 
Let your moderation be known to all men, for the Lord 
is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; for we brought no- 
thing into this world, and it is certain we can carry no- 
thing out : and having food and raiment, let us be 
therewith content ; for godliness with contentment is 
great gain : but they that will be rich, fall into temp- 
tation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful 
lusts, which drown men in perdition and destruction : 
for the love of money is the root of all evil ; which 
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, 
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 
But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow 
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold 
on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast 
professed a good profession before many -witnesses. I 

* Phil.ii:. 8. z 1 Tim. ii 9, 10. 



306 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth 
all things, and before Christ Jesus who before Pontius 
Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this 
commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the 
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Charge them that 
are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor 
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who 
giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good,'that 
they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing 
to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a 
good foundation against the time to come, that they 
may lay hold on eternal life. O Timothy, keep that 
which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and 
vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so 
called, which some professing, have erred concerning 
the faith. Grace be with thee, Amen.''^ This was 
the blessed doctrine these messengers of eternal life de- 
clared ; and, which is more, they lived as they spoke. 
You find an account of their reception in the world, and 
the way of their living in his first epistle to the Corinthi- 
ans ; '' For I think," saith he, " that God hath set 
forth us (the apostles) last, as it were men appointed to 
death ; for we are made a spectacle to the world, to an- 
gels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake ; we 
are weak, we are despised ; even unto this present hour 
we both hunger and thirst, and have no certain dwelling- 
place ; and labour, working with our hands : being re- 
viled, we bless ; being persecuted, we suffer it ; being- 
defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the 
world, and are as the off'-scouring of all things unto this 
day."' This was the entertainment those faithful fol- 
lowers of Jesus received at the hands of an ungrateful 
world : but he who tells us of this, also tells us it is no 
unusual thing ; '* For," saith be, *' such as will live 
godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution." Be- 
sides, he knew it had been the portion of the righteous 
in preceding ages, as in his excellent account of the 
faith, trials, and victory of the holy ancients, in his epis- 

^ Ephes. V. ' 1 Cor. iv. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 307 

tie to the Hebrews, he does largely express, where he 
tells us, how great a sojourner Abraham was, even in 
the land of promise, a stranger in his own country, for 
God had given it unto him and his posterity, '' Dwell- 
ing," saith he, '' in tents with Isaac and Jacob. "^ And 
ivhy not better settled ? Was it for want of understand- 
ing or ability, or m.terials ? No, he gives a better rea- 
son ; " For," saith he, *' Abraham looked for a city 
which had foundations, whose builder and maker is 
God." And speaking of Moses, he tells us, '' That by 
faith, when he was come to years of discretion, he refused 
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing 
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to 
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the 
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of 
Egypt ; for he had respect unto the recompense of re- 
ward, nor feared he the wrath of the king, for he en- 
dured, seeing him who is invisible." He adds, *' And 
others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings ; yea, 
moreover, of bonds and imprisonments : they were sto- 
ned, they were sawed asunder, were tempted, were 
slain with a sword ; they wandered about in sheep- 
skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, torment- 
ed, of whom the world was not worthy. They wander- 
ed in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and caves 
of the earth ; and these all have obtained a good report." 
Methinks this should a little abate the intemperance of 
professed Christians, I do not bid them be thus miser- 
able, but I would not have them make themselves so 
hereafter ; for this afflicted Ufe hath joys transcending 
the utmost pleasure that sin can give, and in the end 
it will be found that it m ere better to be a poor pil- 
grim, than a citizen of the world. Nor was this only 
the life and instruction of apostolical teachers ; the same 
plainness and simplicity of life was also followed by the 
first Christians. 

Sect. 5. The primitive Christians, Ouzelius, in 
his Animadversions on Minutius Felix, saith, were re- 

'-« 1 Cor. xi. 

Rr 



am NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

proaclied by the Gentiles, for their ill-breeding, rude 
and unpolished language, unfashionable behaviour, as 
a people that knew not how to carry themselves in their 
addresses and salutations, calling them rustics and 
clowns, which the Christians easily boix, valuing their 
profession the more for its non- conformity to the world; 
wherefore it was usual with them, by way of irony and 
contempt, to call the Gentiles, the well-bred, the elo- 
quent, and the learned. This he proves by ample testi- 
monies out of Arnobius, Lactantius, Isiodorus, Pelusio- 
ta, Theodoret, and others. Which may instruct us, 
that the Christians behaviour was not regulated by the 
customs of the country they lived in, as is usually ob- 
jected against our singularity : no, they refused the 
embellishment of art, and would not wear the furniture 
of her invention ; but as they "were singular in their 
religion, so in the way of their conversation among 
men.* 

Sect. 6. Clemjsns Romanus (if author of the Con- 
stitutions that go under his name) hath this among the 
rest : '' Abstain from the vain books of the Gentiles. 
What have you to do with vain and unprofitable dis- 
courses, which only serve to seduce weak persons ?"f 
This Clement is remembered by Paul in one of his epis- 
tles ; who in this exacdy follows his advice to Timothy, 
about vain questions, doubtful disputes, and opposition 
of science,^ Let us see how this moderation and purity 
of manners continued. 

• Sect. 7. Macjiiavel, no mean author, in his Dis- 
putations assures us. That the first promoters of Chris- 
tianity were so diligent in rooting out the vanities and 
superstitions of the Gentiles, that they commanded all 
such poets and historians, which commended any thing 
of the Gentile conversation, or worship, to be burned.f 
But that zeal is evidently extinguished, and those fol- 



• Animad. in Min. Fel. p. 25. t Constit. Clem. Rom. I. 1. c.2 

' rhil. iv. 3. :j: Mach. Dis. I. 2. c. 5. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROVvN. ^$09 

lies revived among the professors of the religion of 
Jesus. 

Sect. 8. Tertullian, Chrysostom, Theophy- 
LACT, Gregory Nazianzene,j: upon these words of 
Christ, '* But I say unto you, that every idle word that 
men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in 
the day of judgment," " thus reflect upon A'ain discourse; 
•* The words mean (saith Tertullian) of all vain and 
superfluous speech, more talk than is necessary:" 
Says Chrysostom, "• Of such words as are not conveni- 
ent nor profitable, but move immodesty." Says Theo- 
phylact, *• Of all lies, calumnies, all inordinate and ri- 
diculous speeches." Says Gregory, *' Such words 
men shall account for, which want that profit ever re- 
dounding from modest discourses, and that are seldom 
uttered from any preceding necessity or cause ; things 
frivolous, fables, old wives tales." All which sufficiently 
reprehend the plays, poetry, and romances of the times, 
of great folly, vanity and sin. 

Sect. 9. Gregory, and this a father of the church, 
a very extraordinary man, was so zealous for the sim- 
plicity and purity of the mind, language, and lives of 
the Christians of his time., that he suppressed several 
Greek authors, as Menander, Diphilus, Apollodorus, 
Philemon, Alexis, Sappho, and others, which w^ere the 
recreations of the vain Gentiles : Thus Cardan. Hear 
his judgment of fine clothes, none of the least part of 
the luxury and vanity of the age, ** There be some," 
saith he, " of opinion that the wearing of precious and 
sumptuous apparel is no sin ; which, if it were no fault, 
the Divine Word would never have so punctually ex- 
pressed, nor historically related, how the rich man, that 
was tormented in hell, was clothed in purple and silk : 
whence we may note, that touching the matter or sub- 
ject of attire, human curiosity availeth highly. The 
first substance of our garments was very mean, to wit, 

• Tert. lib. de Patien. Cbrysost. "» Mat. xii.56. 



3i(Si NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

skins with wool ; whence it is we read, God made Adam 
and his wife coats of skins ; that is, skins of dead 
beasts. Afterwards, to see the growing pride and vani- 
ty of men and women, they come to pure wool, be- 
cause lighter ; after that to flax ; then to dung and 
ordure of worms, to wit, silk ; lastly, to gold and silver, 
and precious stones ; which excess of apparel highly 
displeased God : for instance whereof, which the very 
f agans themselves observed, we read, that the very first 
among the Romans that ever wore purple was struck 
with a thunder-bolt, and so died suddenly for a ter- 
ror to all succeeding times, that none should attempt 
to live proudly, in precious attire.'' This was the 
sense of Gregory Nazianzene, that ancient Christian 
writer, who wore commonly a poor coat, like to a 
frock; so did Justin Martyr, Jerom, and Austin, as their 
best robe. 

Sect. 10. Jerom, a famous man, also styled a father 
of the church, above all others seems positive in this 
matter, in an epistle he wrote to a noble virgin, cal- 
led Demetias. in which h^ exhorted her, That after she 
had ended her devotion, she should take in hand w^ool 
and weaving, after the commendable example of Dor- 
cas ; that by such changing and variety of works, the 
day might seem less tedious, and the attempts of Sa- 
tan less grievous ; concluding his religious exhortation 
with this positive sentence : saith he, '' I speak gerie- 
rally ; No raiment or habit whatsoever shall seem pre- 
cious in Christ's sight, but that which thou makest thy- 
self: either for thy own particular use or example of 
other virgins, or to give unto thy grandmother or mo- 
ther : no, though otherwise thou didst distribute thy 
goods to the poor.'"" Let but this strictness be consi- 
dered, and cornpared with the apparel and conversation 
of the age; for, however Pharisee-like they otherwise 
saint him, and call him an Holy Father, sure it is, they 
reject his counsel. 

ft Acts ix. 36, o9. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 311 

Sect. 11. Hilary, bishop of Poictiers, a father of 
the church, and famous for his writings against the 
Arians, having travelled into Syria, was informed, that 
Abra, his only daughter, whom he left with her mother, 
was by the greatest lords of the country solicited in 
marriage ; being a young woman well-bred, tair, and 
rich, and in the prime of her age. He wrote to her, 
earnestly pressing her, By no means to fix her aftections 
upon the pleasure, greatness, or advantage that might 
be presented to her ; for m his voyage he had found a 
greater and worthier match, an husband of far more 
power and magnificence, who would endow her with 
robes and jewels of an inestimable value. This he did 
to take off her desires from the world, that he might 
wed her unto God : and it was his fervent and frequent 
prayer, which in some sense was answered ; for she lived 
religiously, and died a virgin : Which shewed great no- 
bility of mind, that taught his daughter to tread upon 
the mountains of worldly glory ; and it was not less ho- 
nourable in her that so readily yielded to the excellent 
counsel of her pious father. 

Sect. 12. Ambrose, another father, who was lieute- 
nant of the province and city of Milan, and upon his 
discreet appeasing of the multitude, disordered upon 
some difference amongst them about electing a bishop, 
was by their uniform consent chosen himself: although 
this person of all others, might have been thought to 
plead for the accustomed recreations, especially not hav- 
ing been long a Christian, for he was a Catechumenist, 
or one but lately instructed, at the time of his being 
elected ; yet doth he in so many words determine the 
matter thus : *' Plays ought not to be known by Chris- 
tians :" then not made, heard, and defended by Chris- 
tians ; or they must be none that do so. 

Sect. 13. Augustine, more famous for his many 
books, and knowledge in church affairs, whose sentences 
are oracles with some, gives this as his opinion of 
plays, and the like recreations, *' That they were more 



312 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

pernicious and abominable, than those idolatrous sacri- 
fices, which were offered in honour of their Pagan 
gods."* Doubtless he thought the one not so offensrve 
to reason, and the impressions Divinity hath made on 
every understanding, as the other were very pleasant to 
the senses, and therefore apt to steal away the mind 
from better things. For it was his maxim, *' That eve- 
ry thing a man doeth, is either an hinderance or fur- 
therance to good."t This would be esteemed intolerable 
doctrine in a poor Quaker ; yet will the poor Quakers 
rejoice, if it be esteemed and followed, as gbod doctrine 
in Augustine. 

Sect. 14. The Council of Carthage, though times 
began to look somewhat mistier, and the purity and 
spirituality of religion to be much declined by the pro- 
fessors of Christianity ; yet there was so much zeal left 
against the worst part of Heathenism, that I find an ex- 
press Canon against the reading of vain books and 
comedies of the Gentiles, lest the minds of the people 
should be defiled by them. But this age either hath no 
such canon, or executeth it not, to the shame of their 
profession. 

Sect. 15. Cardan more particularly relateth, how 
even Gregory the Great was so zealous of preserving 
purity of manners among Christians, who lived almost 
two hundred years after the Carthaginian council, that 
he caused many Latin authors to be burned, as vain and 
lascivious ; as Caecilianus, Affranius, Naevius, Licinus, 
Zennius, Attilius, Victor, Livy's Dialogues : Nor did 
Plautus, Martial, and Terence, so much in request, 
both in the schools and academies of the land, escape 
their honest 2eal, although the multitude of copies so 
far frustrated their good intentions, as that they are mul- 
tiplied of late.$ 

• Aujrust. cle civit Dei, I. 2. c. 7. f De ira Dei,l. 2. c. 7. 

I Cardao.de Sapient. I. 2. - 



PartIL no cross, no crown. 313 

Sect. 16. Gratian also had such Uke passages as 
these, '* We see that the priests of the Lord, neglecting 
the gospel and the prophets, read comedies or play- 
books, and sing love- verses, and read Virgil, a book in 
which are yet some good expressions."* Strange ! that 
these things should have been so severely censured of 
old, and that persons whose names are had in so much 
reverence, should repute these their censures the con- 
struction of Christ's precepts, and the natural conse- 
quences of the Christian doctrine ; and yet that they 
should be so far neglected of this age, as not to be judg- 
ed worthy an imitation. But pray let us hear what doc- 
trine the Waldenses teach in this affair. 

Sect. 17. Petrus Bellonius, that great and inqui- 
sitive traveller, when he came to Mount Athos, where 
there live in several monasteries six thousand Coloeri, 
or relirious persons, so called, he did not so much as 
find there, no, nor in all Greece, one man acquainted 
with the conversation of those parts ; for though they had 
several manuscripts of divinity in their libraries, yet 
not one poet or historian ; for the rulers of that church 
were such enemies to that sort of learning, that they an- 
athematized all such priests and religious persons, as 
should read or transcribe any books but what treated of 
religion : and persuaded all others, that it was not law- 
ful for a Christian to study poesy, &c. though nothing 
is more grateful in these days. Zeno was of the same 
opinion against poetry. f 

Sect. 18. Waldenses, were a people so called from 
one Peter Waldo, a citizen of Lyons, in France, in the 
year 1160, that inhabited Piedmont, elsewhere called 
Albigenses, from the country of Albia ; Lollards in 
England, from one Reynard Lollard, who some time 
after came into these parts and preached boldly against 
the idolatries, superstitions, and vain conversation of 

* Jac. Laurentio de lib. Gentil. p. 40. 41. 

+ Pet. Be!!, obser. I. 1. c. S5. ibid. c. 40. cap. 29. 



514 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

the inhabitants of this island. They had many other 
names, as Arnoldists, Esperonists, Henricians, Siccars, 
Insabaches, Patarenians, Turlupins, Lyonists, Fraticelli, 
Hussites, Bohemians, still the same ; but finally, by 
their enemies, Damnable Heretics, though by the Pro- 
testants, The true Church of Christ. And to omit ma- 
ny testimonies, I will only instance in bishop Usher, 
who, in his discourse of the succession of the Christian 
church, defends them not only as true reformers, but 
makes the succession of the Protestant church to be 
mainly evincible from their antiquity. I shall forbear 
all the circumstances and principles they held, or in 
which he strongly defends them against the cruelty 
and ignorance of their adversaries, particularly Raine- 
rius, Rubis Capetaneis, &c.* only what they held con- 
cerning our present subject of Apparel and Recreations, 
I cannot be so injurious to the truth, their self-denial, 
the good of others, at whose reformation I aim, and my 
own discourse, as to omit it. And therefore I shall 
proceed to allege their faith and practice in these mat- 
ters, however esteemed but of a trifling importance, by 
the loose, wanton, and carnal minded of this generation, 
whose feeling is lost by the enjoyment of their inordi- 
nate desires, and that think it an high state of Chris- 
tianity to be no better than the beasts that perish, name- 
ly, in not being excessive in Newgate and mere ken- 
nel-enormities. That these ancient reformers had ano- 
ther sense of these things, and that they made the con- 
versation of the gospel of a crucified Jesus to intend and 
require another sort of life, than what is used by al- 
most all those who account themselves members of his 
church, I shall shew out of their own doctrines, as found 
in their most authentic histories. 

Sect. 19. To be brief: in their exposition upon the 
Lord's prayer, that part of it which speaks thus, '* Give 

* XII. Cap. Hist, de orig*. Walden. Vignia Hist. Bibl. p. 130. Dubran. Hist- 
Bohem. 14. Thuan. in. Hist. sui. temp. p. 458. Mat. Paris. Hist, of Engl. An. 
1174. Bellas, torn. 2. lib. l.cap. 26. co. 86, Ecchius, com. loc. c. 28. Alp. I. 6. Con. 
Hieret. p. 99. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 315 

us this day our daily bread ;" where, next to that spi- 
ritual bread, which they make it the duty of all to seek 
more than life, they come positively to deny the pray* 
ing for more than is requisite for outward necessities, or 
that it is lawful to use more ; condemning all superfluity 
and excess, out of fashion, pride, or wantonness, not 
only of bread, but all outward things, which they judge 
to be thereby comprehended ; using EzekiePs words, 
" That fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, 
was the cause of the wickedness and the abominations 
of Sodom, for which God by fire destroyed them off 
the earth."*'^ Whereupon they conchide, with an anci- 
ent father of the primitive church, after this manner, 
" That costly apparel, superfluity in diet, (as three dish- 
es, when one will serve) play, idleness and sleep, fatten 
the body, nourish luxury, weaken the spirit, and lead 
the soul unto death : But (say they) a spare diet, labour, 
short sleep, plain and mean garments, help to purify the 
soul, tame the body, mortify the lusts of the flesh and 
comfort the spirit." So severe were they, that in that 
chapter of the instructions of their children, they would 
not suffer them to converse with those of strange places 
or principles, whose conversation was gaming, plays, 
and the like wanton recreations ; but especially con- 
cerning young women. *' A man, say they, must have 
a great care of his daughter : hast thou daughters ? keep 
them within to wholesome things ; see they wander not : 
for Dinah, Jacob's daughter, was corrupted by being 
seen of strangers." f They affirm no better to be the 
general event of such conversation. 

To which I shall add their judgment and practice con- 
cerning taverns, public houses for treats and pleasures, 
with which the land swarms in our days. 

Sect. 20. *' A tavern is the fountain of sin, the school 
of the Devil ; it works wonders fitting the place : it is 

* Jo. Paul. Per. Hist.Wald. in cat.]. I. c. 3. p. 37, 31. Dona nns !e nostre pan 
quotidian, en. choi. Memor. Morrel. Viijn. Mem. f. V. Ezek. xvi. 45, Tliesaup, 
fed. Ap. Wald. 

f Ibid. 1.2 c. 3. LifiUi sign, naisson i\\ patrons carnal ^ df non essorren- 
dtis, he, 

S s 



316 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. I^art II. 

the custom of God to shew his power in his church, and 
to work miracles ; that is to say, to give sight to the 
spiritually blind, to make the lame to leap, the dumb to 
sing, the deaf to hear : but the Devil doeth quite the con- 
trary to all these in taverns, and the like places of plea- 
sure. For when the drunkard goes to the tavern, he 
goes upright ; but when he comes forth, he cannot go at 
all ; he has lost his sight, speech, and hearing too. The 
lectures that are red in this school of the Devil, say these 
poorWaldenses, and first reformers, are gluttonies, oaths, 
perjuries, lyings, blasphemies, flatteries, and divers other 
wicked villanies and pernicious effects, by which the 
heart is withdrawn farther and farther from God.* And, 
as the book ofEcclesiasticus saith, '' The taverner shall 
not be freed from sin." 

But above other recreations, do but seriously observe 
of what danger and ill consequence these first reformers 
thought Dancing, Music, and the like pastimes to be, 
which are the greatest divertisements of the times, viz. 

Sect. 21. '* Dancing is the Devil's procession, and 
he that enters into a dance, entereth into his procession ; 
the Devil is the guide, the middle, and the end of the 
dance ; as many paces as a man maketh in dancing, so 
many paces doth he make to go to hell. A man sinneth 
in dancing divers ways, for all his steps are numbered ; 
in his touch, in his ornaments, in his hearing, sight, 
speech, and other vanities. And therefore we will 
prove, first by the scripture, and afterwards by divers 
other reasons, how wicked a thing it is to dance. The 
first testimony that we will produce, is that which we 
read in the gospel, where it is said, it pleased Herod so 
well, that it cost John Baptist his life. The second is 
in Exodus, when Moses coming near to the con.s;rega- 
tion, saw the calf, he cast the tables from him, and broke 
them at the foot of the mountain ; and afterwards it cost 
three thousand of their lives. Besides, the ornaments 
which women wear in their dances are as crowns for 

* Ibifi. 1. 2. c. 3. La taverna de maisons de plei«!irs es fovtuna de pecca Er- 
cUcla delDiavob, &c. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 317 

many victories, which the Devil hath got against the 
children of God ; for the Devil hath not only one sword 
in the dance, but as many as there are beautiful and well- 
adorned persons in the dance ; for the words of a woman 
are a glittering sword. And therefore that place is much 
to be feared, wherein the enemy hath so many swords, 
since that only one sword of his may be justly feared." 
Again, ** The Devil in this place strikes with a sharpen- 
ed sword ; for the women, who make it acceptable, come 
not willingly to the dance, if they be not painted and 
adorned ; which, painting and ornament, is as a whet- 
stone, on which the Devil sharpeneth his sword. — They 
that deck and adorn their daughters, are like those that 
put dry wood to the fire, to the end it may burn the 
better : for such women kindle the fire of luxury in the 
hearts of men. As Samson's foxes fired the Thilistines 
corn ; so these women, they have fire in their faces, and 
in their gestures and actions, their glances and wanton 
w^ords, by which they consume the goods of men." 
They proceed, " The Devil in the dance useth the 
strongest armour that he hath ; for his most powerful 
arms are women : which is made plain unto us, in that 
the Devil made choice of the woman to deceive the first 
man : so did Balaam, that the children of Israel miglit 
be rejected of God. By a woman he made Samson, 
David, and Absalom to sin. The Devil tempteth men 
by women three manner of ways; that is, by the touch, 
by the eye, by the cAr ; by these three means he tempt- 
eth foolish men to dancing, by touching their hands, 
beholding their beauty, hearing their songs and music.*' 
— Again, ** They that dance break that promise and 
agreement they made with God in baptism, when their 
godfathers promise for them. That they shall renounce 
the Devil and all his pomp : for dancing is the pomp of 
the Devil ; and he that danceth, maintaineth his pomp, 
and singeth his mass. For the woman that singeth in 
the dance, is the prioress, or chiefest of the Devil, and 
those that answer are the clerks, and the beholders are 
the parishioners, and the music are the bells, and the 
fiddlers the ministers of the Devil. For, as when hogs 



318 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

are strayed, if the hogherd call one, all assemble them- 
selves together ; so the devil causeth one woman to sing 
in the dance, or to play on some instrument, and present- 
ly gather all the dancers together." Again, "In a 
dance, a man breaks the Ten Commandments of God : 
as first, ** Thou shalthave no other Gods but me," he. 
for in dancing a man serves that person whom he most 
desires to serve, after whom goes his heart :* and there- 
fore Jerom saith, '* Every man's God is that he serves 
and loves best, and that he loves best, which his thoughts 
wander and gad most after." He sins against the Se- 
cond commandment, when he makes an idol of that he 
loves. Against the Third ; in that oaths, and frivolous- 
ly using God's name, are frequently amongst dancers. 
Against the fourth ; for that by dancing the sabbath- 
day is profaned. Against tlie Fifth ; for in the dance 
parents are many times dishonoured, since thereby 
many bargains are made without their counsel. 
Against the Sixth ; a man kills in dancing ; for every 
one that sets about to please another, he kills the soul 
as oft as he persuades unto lust. Against the Seventh ; 
for the party that danceth, be it male or female, com- 
mitteth adultery with the party they lust after ; "for 
he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath 
already committed adultery with her in his heart." 
Against the Eighth ; a man sins in dancing, when he 
withdraweth the heart of another from God. Against 
the Ninth, when in dancing he speaks falsely against the 
truth, and for some littl!5 honour, or secret lascivious 
end, denies what is true, or affirms what is false. 
Against the Tenth, when women affect the ornaments 
of others, and men covet the wives, daughters and 
servants of their neighbours, which undeniably attends 
all such plays and sports." Again, " A man may 
proyp hpw great an evil dancing is, by the multitude 
of sins that accompany those that dance, for they dance 
without pleasure or number : and therefore, saith 

• La Bales la profef. del Diavol. & qui intra an la Bal. &c. Sp. Aim. fol. 50, 
51, 52, 53, 54. Job xiv. 16. Ps. xxxvii. 23. Prov. xvi. 9. Jer. x. 23. Mark 
vi. 23, 24, 25, 26, 2^, 28. Exod. ^xxxl 4, 5, 6, 7. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 319 

Augustine, the miserable dancer knows not, that as 
many paces as he makes in dancing, so many leaps he 
makes to hell.* They sin in their ornaments after a 
five-fold manner : First, by being proud thereof, 
Secondly, by inflaming the hearts of those that behold 
them. Thirdly, when they make those ashamed, that 
have not the like ornaments, giving them to covet the 
like. Fourthly, by making women importunate in 
demanding the like ornaments, of their husbands : 
and, Fifthly, when they cannot obtain them of the -r hus- 
bands, they seek to get them elsewhere by sin. They 
sin by singing and playing on instruments ; for their 
songs bewitch the hearts of those that hear them 
with temporal delight, forgetting God ; uttering no- 
thing in their songs but lies and vanities ; and the very 
motion of the body, which is used in dancing, gives 
testimony enough of evil. — Thus you see, that danc- 
ing is the Devil's procession, and he that enters into a 
dance enters into the Devil's procession. Of dancing, 
the Devil is the guide, the middle, and the end ; and he 
that entcreth a good and wise man into the dance, if it 
can be that such an one is either good or wise, cometh 
forth a corrupt and wicked man : Sarah, that holy wo- 
man was none of these, "f Behold the apprehensions 
of those good old reformers, touching those things that 
are so much in practice and reputation in these times, 
with such as profess their religion ; thus far verbatim. 
But I cannot leave off here till I have yet added the con- 
clusion of their Catechism and Direction, with some 
passages out of one of their pastor's letters, fit to the 
present occasion. 

They condude with this direction ; namely, How to 
rule their bodies, and live in this world, as becomes the 
children of God. Not to serve the mortal desires of 
the flesh. To keep their members, that they be not 
arms of iniquity, and vanity. To rule their outward 
senses. To subject the body to the soul. To mortify 
their members. To fly idleness. To observe a so- 

* Jerom. in dec. int. oper. t August, de Civit, Dei. 



320 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

briety and measure in eating and drinking, in their 
words and cares of this life. To do works of mercy. 
To live a moral, or just, life by faith. To fight against 
the desires. To mortify the works of the flesh. To 
give themselves to the exercise of religion. To confer 
together touching the will of God. To examine dili- 
gently the conscience. To purge, and amend, and pa- 
cify the spirit.* 

To which I shall add the epistle of one of their pastors, 
as I find it recorded amongst other matters relating to 
these poor afflicted people. 

Sect. 22. An Epistle of Pastor Bartholomew Tertian, 
written to the Waldensian churches of the valley of Pra- 
gela, thus translated. 



JESUS BE WITH YOU. 

*' TO all our faithful and well-beloved brethren in 
Christ Jesus, health and salvation be with you all. Amen. 
These are to put you in remembrance, and to admonish 
you, my brethren, hereby acquitting myself of that duty 
which I owe unto you all, in the behalf of God, prin- 
cipally touching the care of your souls salvation, 
according to that light of the truth which the most 
high God hath bestowed on us, that it would please 
every one of you to maintain, increase and nourish, to 
the uttermost of your power, without diminution, those 
good beginnings and examples, which have been left 
unto us by our fore-fathers, whereof we are no ways 
worthy. For it would little profit us to have been re- 
newed by the fatherly visitation, and the light which 
hath been given us of God, if we give ourselves to 
worldly, carnal conversations, which are diabolical, 
abandoning the principle which is of God, and the sal- 
vation of our souls, for this short and temporal life, t 

• Ibid. I. ii. Concl. p. 68. Encaren qual maniere, fidel. debian. regir. U ler 
corps. Non servali desirier mort. &c. 
t Hist. Wald.l.4.c, 11. p. 55, 56, 57. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 321 

For the Lord saith, ** What doth it profit a man to gain 
the whole world, and to lose his own soul?" For it 
would be better for us never to have known the way of 
righteousness, than having known it to do the con- 
trary. Let me therefore entreat you, by the love of 
God, that you decrease not, or look back ; but rather in- 
crease the charity, fear and obedience, which is due unto 
God, and to yourselves, amongst yourselves ; and stand 
fast in all these good principles, which you have heard 
and understood of God by our means : and that you 
would remove from amongst you all vain conversa- 
tion and evil surmises, troubling the peace, the love, 
the concord, and whatsoever would indispose or 
deaden your minds to the service of God, your own 
salvation, and the administration of the truth, if you 
desire that God should be merciful to you in your 
goods temporal and spiritual : For you can do nothing 
without him ; and if you desire to be heirs of his glory, 
do that which he commandcth : '* If you would enter 
into life, keep my commandments.*'® 

Likewise be careful, that there be not nourished 
among you, any sports, gluttony, whoredom, dancings, 
nor any lewdness, or riot, nor questions, nor deceits, 
nor usury, nor discords, nor support or entertain any 
persons of a wicked conversation, or that give any scan- 
dal or ill example amongst you ; but let charity and fidel- 
ity reign amongst you, and all good example ; doing 
one to another as every one desires should be done unto 
him ; for otherwise it is impossible that any should be 
saved or can have the grace of God, or be good men in 
this world, or have glory in another. And therefore, if 
you hope and desire to possess eternal life, to live in 
esteem and credit, and to prosper in this world, in your 
goods temporal and spiritual, purge yourselves from all 
disorderly ways, to the end that God may be always 
with you, who forsakes not those that trust in him. 
But know this for certain, that God heareth not, nor 
dwelleth with sinners, nor in the soul that is given unto 
wickedness, nor in the man that is subject to sin. And 

s MaU, ils. 17. 



322 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

therefore let every one cleanse the ways of his heart, and 
fly the danger, if he would not perish therein. I have 
no other thing at this present, but that you would put in 
practice these things ; and the God of peace be with you 
all, and go along with us, and be present among us in 
our sincere, humble and fervent prayers ; and that he 
will be pleased to save all those his faithful, that trust in 
Christ Jesus. 

Entirely yours, ready to do you service in all things 
possible, according unto the will of God, 

BARTHOLOMEW TERTIAN. 



Sect, 23. Behold the life and doctrine, instruction 
and practice of the ancient Waldenses ! how harmless, 
how plain, how laborious, how exceeding serious and 
heavenly in their conversations ! These were the men, 
women, aye, and children too, who, for above five hun- 
dred years, have valiantly, but passively, maintained a 
cruel war, at the expense of their own innocent blood, 
against the unheard-of cruelties and severities of several 
princes, nuncios, and bishops ; but above all, of certain 
cruel inquisitors, of whom their historians report, that 
they held it was a greater evil to conceal an heretic, than 
to be guilty of perjury ; and for a clergyman to marry 
a wife, than to keep a whore. In short, to dissent, 
though never so conscientiously, was worse than open 
immorality. It was against the like adversaries these 
poor Waldenses fought, by sufferings throughout the 
nations, by prisons, confiscations, banishments, wander- 
ing from hill to valley, from den to cave, being mocked, 
whipped, racked, thown from rocks and towers, driven 
on mountains, and in one night thousands perished by 
excessive frosts and snows, smothered in caves, starved, 
imprisoned, ripped up, hanged, dismembered, rifled, 
plundered, strangled^ broiled, roasted, burned ; and 
whatsoever could be invented to ruin men, women 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 323 

and children.* These Waldenses you Protestants pre- 
tend to be your ancestors ; from them you say you 
have your religion ; and often, like the Jews of the pro- 
phets, are you building their praises in your discourses : 
but oh ! look back, I beseech you, how unlike are you 
to these afflicted pilgrims ! What resemblance is there 
of their life in yours ? Did they help to purchase and 
preserve you a liberty and religion, can you think, 
at the loss of all that was dear to them, that you might 
pass away your days and years in pride, wantonness and 
vanity ? What proportion bears your excess with their 
temperance ? your gaudiness with their plainness ? 
your luxury and flesh-pleasing conversations with their 
simplicity and self-denial ? But are you not got into 
that spirit and nature they condemned in thei^ day ? in- 
to that carnality and worldly- mindedness they reproved 
in their persecutors ? nay, into a strain of persecution 
too, whilst you seem to hide all under a cloke of refor- 
mation ? How can you hope to confute their persecu- 
tors, whose worst part perhaps was their cruelty, that 
turn persecutors yourselves ? What have you, besides 
their good words, that is like them. And do you think 
that words will fend off the blows of eternal vengeance ? 
that a little by -rote- babble, though of never so good ex- 
pressions in themselves, shall serve your turn at the 
great day ?f No, from God I tell you, that whilst you 
live in the wantonness, pride, and luxury of the world, 
pleasing and fulfilling the lust of the eye, the lust of 
the flesh, and the pride of life, God detests you all, and 
laughs you and your worship to scorn. ^ Never tell me, 
I am too rash, it is the Devil that says so : he has got 
two scriptures by the end in these days; one, '' That 
there is none that doeth good ;" and w^hy ? that he may 
persuade all, it is impossible to overcome him ; which 
is the reason so many are overcome : although glory is 

* Bern, de Gir. lord de Hail. Hist, de la Fr. 1. 10. vesemb. Orat. m W^ald. 
Beza Hist.liom. dig.virer.de ver. & falsa Rel. I, 4. C. 13. p. 249. Cat. Test. ve. 
334. Vigin. Bib. Hist. p. 1. Vieaux. Mem. fol. 6. 7. Mai. Par. in Hen. 3. An. 
1220. Sigonius de Reg. Ital. 7. 

t Sernay, c. 47. Chef. 1. 3. c. 7. ^ IJohn ii. U, 15. 16. 17. 

T 1-, 



3^4 NO CROSS, NO CROWN* PaUt IL 

promised to none but conquerors. The second, " That 
we must not judge, lest we be judged :'' that is, whilst 
we are guilty of the same things that are equivalent, 
lest we are judged.* But away with Satan and his hy- 
pocrisy too : I know what I say, and from whom I 
speak : once more I tell you all, whether you will hear 
or forbear, that unless you forsake your pride, luxury, 
avarice, and whole variety of vanities, and diligently 
mind the eternal light of God in your hearts, to obey 
it, wrath will be your portion for ever. Trust not your 
souls upon misapplied scriptures ; " He that is a child 
of God, must be holy, for God is holy, and none are his 
sons and daughters, but those who are adopted by the 
eternal Spirit, and led thereby."^ It was an holy, plain, 
humble, divine life, these poor suffering Christians both 
professed and practised, refusing to converse with such 
as lived in the superfluities and excess of the world ; 
for which, if you will believe their very adversaries, 
they were persecuted : for says Rainerius, a great wri- 
ter against them, " They use to teach, first, what the 
disciples of Christ ought to be, and that none are his 
disciples but they that imitate his life ; and that the 
popes, cardinals, Sec. because they live in luxury, pride, 
avarice, Sec. are not the successors of Christ ; but them- 
selves only, in that they walk up to his commandments : 
thus, says he^ they win upon the people." But if so, 
that none are Christians but those that imitate Christ, 
\\^hat will become of those who call themselves Chris- 
tians, and yet live at ease in the flesh, not regarding the 
work of the holy cross of Christ in their hearts, that 
crucifies them that bear it to the world, and the world to 
them ? This was the true ground of their sufferings, and 
their loud cries against the impieties of the greatest ; 
not sparing any ranks, from the throne to the dunghill, 
as knowing their God was no respecter of persons. f 

* The Devil a scripttirian sometimes. 
% 1 Pet. i. 12, 13, 14. Rom. viii. 1 to 16. 

f Rain. cap. cle stud, pervert, alios & modo dicendi. I. 98. BatTon.Ecc. Annal. 
torn. 12. an. 1176. p. 835. Kranz.-in Metrop. I. 8. sect. 18. & in Sax. 1. 8. cap. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 325 

And now, if you would follow them indeed, if you 
would be Protestants in substance, and learn your ene- 
mies a way worth their changing, for else better words 
go but a little way, if you would obtain the heavenly 
inheritance, and you would be eternally blessed, be ye 
persuaded to forsake all the pride and the pomp of this 
vain world. O mind ihe concerns of an everlasting 
rest ! Let the just and serious principle of X^od within 
you be the constant guide and companion of your minds ; 
and let your whole hearts be exercised thereby ; that 
you may experience an entire reformation and change 
of affections, through the power of that Divine Leaven, 
which leavens the whole lump,j^ viz. body, soul, and 
spirit, where it is received : to which, and its work in 
man, our blessed Lord likened the kingdom of God, 
which he came to set up in the soul : that so having the 
joys and glory of another world in your view, you may 
give your best diligence to make your calling and elec- 
tion, to the possession of them, sure and certain ; lest 
selling that noble inheritance for a poor mess of perishing- 
pottage, you never enter into his eternal rest. And 
though this testimony may seem tedious, yet could it 
by no means be omitted. To authorize our last rea- 
son, of converting superfluities into the relief of distress- 
ed persons, although one would think it is so equal and 
sober, that it needs no other authority than its own, yet, 
I shall produce two testimonies, so remarkable, that as 
they ever were esteemed truly good, so they cannot be 
approved by any that refuse to do the same, without con- 
demning themselves of great iniquity. O you are called 
with an high and holy call ; as high as heaven, and as 
holy as God ; for it is he that calls us to holiness, through 
Christ, who sent his Son to bless us, in turning us from 
the evil of our ways ; and unless we are so turned, we 
can have no claim to the blessing that comes by Christ to 
men. 

Sect. 24. It is reported of Paulinus, bishop of 
Nola, in Italy ; that instead of converting the domains 

i> Matt. xiii. 33. 



326 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

of his diocese to particular enrichments, he employed it 
all in the redemption of poor slaves and prisoners ; be- 
lieving it unworthy of the Christian faith, to see God's 
creation labour under the want of what he had to spare. ^ 
All agree this was well done, but few agree to do the 
same. 

Sect, 25, But more particularly of Ac A cius, bishop 
of Amida, given us by Socrates Scholasticus, in this 
manner; " When the Roman soldiers purposed in no 
wise to restore again unto the king of Persia such cap- 
tives as they had taken at the winning Azazena, being 
about seven thousand in number, to the great grief of 
the king of Persia, and all of them ready to starve for 
food ; Acacius lamented their condition, and calling his 
clergy together, said thus unto them. Our God hath 
no need of Dishes or Cups, for he neither eateth nor 
drinketh ; these are not his necessaries : wherefore 
seeing the church hath many precious Jewels, both of 
Gold and Silver, bestowed of the free will and liberality 
of the faithful, it is requisite that the captive soldiers 
should be therewith redeemed, and delivered out of 
prison and bondage ; and they, perishing with famine, 
should therewith be refreshed and relieved. Thus he 
prevailed to have them all converted into money ; some 
for their immediate refreshment, some for their redemp- 
tion, and the rest for costage or provision, to defray 
the charges of their voyage. f Which noble act had 
such an universal influence, that it more famed the 
Christian religion amongst the Infidels, than all their 
disputes and battles : Insomuch that the king of Persia, 
and an Heathen, said. The Romans endeavoured to win 
their adversaries both by wars and favours ; and greatly 
desired to behold that man, whose religion taught so 
much charity to enemies ; which, it is reported, Theo- 
dosius, the emperor, commanded Acacius to gratify 
him in." And if the apostle Paul's expression hath 
any force, " That he is worse than an infidel, who pro- 

* Ecc. Hist. p. 5. 393. t Socrat- Scholast. 1. 7. c. 21. 



Part IL NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 327 

vides not for his family ;"j how greatly doth this ex- 
ample aggravate your shame, that can behold such 
pity and compassion expressed to strangers, nay enemies, 
and those Infidels too, and be so negligent of your 
own family, for England, aye, Christendom, in a sense, 
if not the World, is no more, as not only to see their 
great necessities unanswered, but that wherewith they 
should be satisfied, converted to gratify the lust of the 
eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. But 
however such can please themselves, in the deceitful 
daubing of their mercenary priests, and dream they are 
members of Jesus Christ, it is certain that things were 
otherwise in the beginning ; for then all was sold and 
put into a common purse, to supply indigencies : Not 
mattering earthly inheritances, farther than as they 
might in some sense be subservient to the great end for 
which they were given, namely, the good of the creation. 
Thus had the purest Christians their minds and thoughts 
taken up with the better things, and raised with the as- 
surance of a more excellent life and inheritance in the 
heavens, that will never pass away.^ And for any to 
Hatter themselves with being Christians, whilst so much 
exercised in the vanities, recreations, and customs of 
the world, as to this very day we see they are, is to mock 
the great God, and abuse their immortal souls. The 
Christian life is quite another thing. 

And lest that any should object, " Many do great 
and seemingly good actions to raise their reputation 
only ; and others only decry pleasure, because they have 
not wherewithal, or know not how to take it ;" I shall 
present them with serious sayings of Aged and Dying 
men, and those of the greatest note and rank ; whose 
experience could not be wanting to give the truest ac- 
count how much their Honours, Riches, Pleasures, and 
Recreations conduced to their satisfaction, upon a just 
reckoning, as well before their extreme moments, as 
upon their dying beds, w4ien Death, that hard passage 
into eternity, looked them in the face. 

i 1 Tim. v, 1. fe Acts, iv. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 



328 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 



CHAP. XXI. 



SERIOUS DYING, AS WELL AS LIVING, TESTIMONIES. 

Sect. 1. Solomon. 2. Chilon. 3. Ignatius. 4. Justin Mar- 
tyr. 5. Chrysostom, 6. Charles V. 7. Michael de Mon- 
taigne. 8. Cardinal Wolsey. 9. Sir Philip Sidney. 10. 
Secretary Walsingham. 11. Sir John Mason. 12. Sir 
Walter Raleigh. 13. H. Wotton. 14. Sir Christopher 
Hatton. 15. Lord chancellor Bacon. 16. The great duke 
of Momerancy. 17. Henry prince of Wales. 18. Philip III. 
king of Spain. 19. Count Gondamor. 20. Cardinal Rich- 
lieu. 2<1. Cardinal Mazarine. 22. Chancellor Oxcistem. 
23. Dr. Dun. 24. Jo. Selden. 25. H. Grotius. 26. P. 
Salmasius. 27. Fran. Junius. 28. A. Rivetus. 29. The 
late earl of Marlborough. 30. Sir Henry Vane. 31. Abra- 
ham Cowley. 32. Late earl of Rochester. 33. One of the 
family of Howard. 34. Princess Elizabeth of the Rhine. 
35. Commissioner Whitlock. 36. A sister of the family of 
Penn. 37. My own father. 38. Anthony Lowther of Mask. 
39. Seigneur du Renti. 

III. The serious Apprehensions and Expressions of 
several Aged and Dying Men of Fame and Learning. 

Sect. 1. oOLOMON, than whom none is believed 
to have more delighted himself in the enjoyments of the 
world, at least better to have understood them ; hear 
what he says, after all his experience ; *' I said in 
my heart, Go to now ; I will prove thee with Mirth ; 
therefore enjoy Pleasure : And behold, this also is 
vanity. I said of Laughter, It is mad ; and of 
Mirth, What doeth it ? I made me great Works, build- 



Part IL NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 329 

ed Houses, planted Vineyards, made Gardens and 
Orchards, planted trees in them of all kind of fruit : 
I got me Servants and Maidens ; also great pos- 
sessions ; I gathered me Silver and Gold, and the pe- 
culiar treasures of Kings and Provinces ; also men 
and Women Singers, and the delights of the sons of 
men ; as Musical Instruments, and that of all sorts : So 
I was great, and increased more than all that were be- 
fore me in Jerusalem ; and whatsoever mine eyes desir- 
ed, I kept not from them ; I withheld not mine heart 
from any joy. Then I looked on all the works which 
my hands had wrought, and behold, All was vanity and 
vexation of spirit."^ The reason he gives in the 18th 
and 19th verses is, that the time of enjoying them was 
very short, and it was uncertain who should be bene- 
fitted by them when he was gone. Wherefore he con- 
cludes all with this ; *' Fear God, and keep his com- 
mandments, for this is the whole duty of man : For 
God shall bring every work into judgment, whether it 
be good, or whether it be evil." Oh, that men would 
lay this to heart ! 

Sect. 2. Chilon, one of the seven wise men of 
Greece, already mentioned upon another occasion, af- 
fords us a dying testimony of great example : It is re- 
lated thus by Agellius : When his life drew towards an 
end, ready to be seized by death, he spoke thus to his 
friends about him : ** My words and actions in this long 
term of years, have been, almost all, such as I need not 
repent of; which, perhaps, you also know. Truly, even 
at this time I am certain, I never committed any 
thing, the remembrance of which begets any trouble in 
me, unless this one thing only ; which whether it 
were done amiss, or not, I am uncertain. I sat with 
two others, as judge, upon the life of my Friend ; the 
law was such, as the person must of necessity be con- 
demned ; so that either my Friend must lose his life, or 
some deceit be used towards the Law. Revolving man}- 

! Eccl. li. 1 to 11. 



330 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

things in my mind, for relief of a condition so desperate, 
I conceived that which I put in practice to be of all 
other the most easy to be borne : Silently I condemn- 
ed him, and persuaded those others, who judged, to 
absolve him. Thus I preserved in so great a business, 
the duty both of a Judge and Friend, ^^ut fr'brrn tlhat act 
I received this trouble ; that I fear it i^ not fr^ from 
perfidiousness and guilt, in the same business, at the 
same time, and in a public affair, to persuade, others 
contrary to what was in my own judgment best"* O 
tender conscience ! Yet an Heathen's ! Where dwells 
the Christian that excelleth ? Hard to be found among 
the great Rabbies of Christendom. 

Sect. 3. Ignatius, who lived within the first hun- 
dred years after Christ, and was torn in pieces of wild 
beasts at Rome, for his true faith in Jesus, left this, 
amongst other things, behind him : " There is nothing 
better than the peace of a Good Conscience :" Intimat- 
ing, there might be a peace to wicked consciences, that 
are past feeling any thing to be evil, but swallowed up 
of the wickedness of the world. And in his epistle to 
the churches at Ephesus, Magnetia, Trallis, and Rome, 
upon his martyrdom, saith, '' Now I begin to be a dis- 
ciple ; I Aveigh neither visible nor invisible things, so 
that I may gain Christ. "f O heavenly- minded man ! A 
blessed martyr of Jesus indeed. 

Sect. 4. Justin Martyr, a philosopher, who re- 
ceived Christianity five and twenty years after the death 
of Ignatius, plainly tells us, in his relation of his con- 
version to the Christian faith, '' That the power of god- 
liness in a plain simple Christian had that influence and 
operation on his soul, that he could not but betake him- 
self to a serious and strict life:" And yet before he 
was a Cynic ; a strict sect. And this gave him joy at 
his martyrdom, having spent his days as a serious teacher, 

* Severus, Apop. p. 175. f Igrsatius Epist. ad Ephes. Mag. Trail. Rom. 
Eus. 1. 3, c. 32. 



Part U. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 331 

and a good example. And Eusebius relates, ** That 
though he was also a follower of Plato's doctrine ; yet, 
when he saw the Christians piety and courage, he con- 
cluded, no people so temperate, less voluptuous, and 
more set on divine things :" Which first induced him 
to be a Christian.^ 

Sect. 5. Chrysostom, another father, so called, 
lays this down for necessary doctrine, *' To sacrifice 
the whole soul and body to the Lord, is the highest 
service we can pay unto him. God promiseth mercy 
unto penitent sinners ; but he doth not promise them 
they shall have so much time as to-morrow for their re- 
pentance. 

Sect, 6. Charles V. emperor of Germany, king 
of Spain, and lord of the Netherlands, after three and 
twenty pitched fields, six triumphs, four kingdoms con- 
quered, and eight principalities added to his dominions, 
a greater instance than whom can scarce be given, re- 
signed up all his pomp to other hands, and betook 
himself to his retirement ; leaving this testimony be- 
hind him, concerning the life he spent in the honours 
and pleasures of the world, and in that little time of 
his retreat from them all : '-'• That the sincere study, 
profession, and practice of the Christian religion, had 
in it such joys and sweetness, as Courts were stran- 
gers to." 

Sect. 7. Michael de Montaigne, a lord of France, 
famous with men of letters for his book of Essays, 
giveth these instructions to pthcrs, and this character of 
himself, viz. " Amidst our banquets, feasts, and plea- 
sures, let us have ever this restraint or object of Death 
before us ; that is, the remembrance of our condition : 
And let not pleasure so much mislead or transport us, 
that we altogether neglect or forget how many ways our 
joys, or our feastings, be subject unto Death, and by 

* Euseb.Ecc. Hist. !. 4. c. 8. 

V 1.1 ''^ 



332 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

how many holdfasts she threateneth us and yau. So 
did the Egyptians, who in the midst of their banqu^t- 
ings, and in the full of their greatest cheer, caused the 
Anatomy of a Dead Man to be brought before them, 
as a memorandum and warning to their guests. I am 
now, by means of the mercy of God, in such a taking, 
that without regret or grieving at any worldly matter, I 
am prepared to dislodge, whensoever he shall please to 
call me. I am every where free : My farewell is soon 
taken of all my friends, except of myself. No man did 
ever prepare himself to quit the world mor^ simply and 
fully, or more generally lay aside all thoughts af it, than 
I am fully assured I shall do. All the glory I pretend 
in my life, is, that I have lived Quietly : Quietly, not 
according to Metrodorus, Arcesilaus, or Aristippus ; 
but according to Myself. Since philosophy could never 
find any way for tranquillity, that might be generally 
good ;" " Let every man in his own particular seek for 
it." Let us not propose so fleeting and so wavering an 
end unto ourselves, as the World's Glory : Let us con- 
stantly follow reason : And let the Vulgar Approbation 
follow us that way, if it please. I care not so much what 
I am with others, as I respect what I am In Myself : 
I will be rich in myself, and not by borrowing. Stran- 
gers see but external appearances and events : Every 
man can set a good face upon the matter, when within 
he is full of care, grief and infirmities : They see not 
my heart, when they look upon my outward counte- 
nance. We are nought but ceremony ; Ceremony doth 
transport us, and we leave the Substance of things : we 
hold fast by the boughs, and leave the trunk or body, 
the Substance of things, behind us." 

Sect. 8. Cardinal Wolsey, the most absolute and 
wealthy minister of state this kingdom ever had, that in 
his time seemed to govern Europe as well as England, 
.when come to the period of his life, left the world with 
this close reflection upon himself; " Had I been as dili- 
gent to serve my God, as I was to please my king, he 
would not have left me now in my grey hairs." A dis- 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 33^ 

mal reflection for all worldly-minded men ; but those 
more especially who have the power and means of doing 
more good than ordinary in the world, and do it not ; 
which seems to have been the case and reflection of this 
great man. 

Sect. 9. Sir Philip Sidney, a subject indeed of 
England, but, they say, chosen king of Poland ; whom 
queen Elizabeth called Her Philip ; the prince of 
Orange, His Master ; whose friendship the lord 
Brooks was so proud of, that he would have it part of 
his epitaph, ** Here lies Sir Philip Sidney's friend :'' 
Whose death was lamented in verse by the then kings 
of France and Scotland, and the two universities of Eng- 
land, repented so much at his death of that witty vanity^ 
of his life, his Arcadia, that to prevent the unlawful 
kindling of heats in others, he would have committed 
it to the flames himself; and left this farewell amongst 
his friends, " Love my memory ; cherish my friends ; 
their faith to me may assure you that they are honest : 
But above all, govern your will and affections by the 
Will and Word of your Creator. In me behold the end 
of this World, and all its Vanities." And indeed 
he was not much out in saying so, since in him was to 
be seen the end of all natural parts, acquired learning, 
and civil accomplishments. His farewell seems spok- 
en without terror, with a clear sense, and an equal 
judgment. 

Sect. 10. Secretary Wal SIN CHAM, an extraordinary 
man in queen Elizabeth's time, towards the conclusion 
of his days, in a letter to his fellow- secretary, Burleigh, 
then lord treasurer of England, writes thus : " We 
have lived enough to our Country, our Fortunes, our 
Sovereign : It is high time we begin to live to Our- 
selves, and to our God. Which giving occasion for 
some court-droll to visit, and try to divert him ; " Ah ! 
(saith he) while we laugh, all things are serious round 
about us ; God is serious, when he preserveth us ; and 
hath patience towards us ; Christ is serious, when he 



SU NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

dietli for us ; the Holy Ghost is serious, when he striveth 
with us ; the whole creation is serious, in serving God 
and us ; they are serious in hell and in heaven : 
And shall a man that hath one foot in his grave, Jest 
and Laugh ?" O that our statesmen would weigh the 
conviction, advice, and conclusion of this great man ; 
and the greatest man, perhaps, that has borne that cha- 
racter in our nation. For true it is, that none can be 
serious too soon, because none can be good too soon. 
Away then with all foolish talking and jesting, and let 
people mind more profitable things ! 

Sect. 11. John Mason, knight, who had been privy- 
counsellor to four princes, and spent much time in the 
preferments and pleasure of the world, retired with these 
pathetical and regretful sayings : " After so many 
years experience. Seriousness is the greatest Wisdom; 
Temperance the best Physic ; a Good Conscience 
is the best Estate. And were I to live again, I would 
change the court for a cloister, my privy-counsellor's 
bustles for an hermit's retirement, and the whole life I 
lived in the palace, for one hour's enjoyment of God in the 
chapel. All things else forsake me, besides my God, 
my Duty, and my Prayers." 

Sect. 12. Sir Walter Raleigh is an eminent in- 
stance, being as extraordinary a man as our nation hath 
produced : In his person, well descended ; of health, 
strength, and a masculine beauty : In understanding, 
quick ; in judgment, sound ; learned and wise, valiant 
and skilful : An Historian, a Philosopher, a General, 
a Statesman. After a long life, full of experience, he 
drops these excellent sayings a little before his death, 
to his son, to his wife, and to the world, viz. '' Exceed 
not in the humour of Rags and Bravery ; for these will 
soon wear out of fashion : And no man is esteemed for 
Gay Garments, but by Fools and Women. On the 
other side, seek not Riches basely, nor attain them by 
evil means : Destroy no man for his Wealth, nor take 
any thing froin the Poor ; for the cry thereof will pierce 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 335 

the heavens : And it is most detestable before God, 
and most dishonourable before worthy men, to wrest 
any thing from the needy and labouring soul : God will 
never prosper thee, if thou offendest therein ; but use 
thy poor neighbours and tenants well." [A most 
worthy saying ! But he adds] " Have compassion on the 
Poor and Afflicted, and God will bless thee for it : 
Make not the hungry soul sorrowful ; for if he curse 
thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be 
heard of him that made him. Now, for the world (dear 
child) I know it too well, to persuade thee to dive into 
the practices of it : Rather stand upon thy own guard 
against all those that tempt thee to it, or may practise 
upon thee ; whether in thy Conscience, thy Reputa- 
tion, or thy Estate : Resolve, that no man is Wise or 
Safe, but he that is Honest. Serve God ; let him be 
the author of all thy actions : Commend all thy endea- 
vours to him, that must either wither or prosper them ; 
Please him with prayer ; lest if he frown, he confound 
all thy fortune, and labour, like the drops of rain upon 
the sandy ground. Let my experienced advice, and 
fatherly instruction, sink deep into thy heart : So God 
direct thee in all thy ways, and fill thy heart with his 
grace." 



Sir Walter Raleigh's Letter to his Wife, after 

his condemnation. 



YOU shall receive, my dear wife, my last words, 
in these my last lines. My Love I send to you, " That 
you may keep when I am dead ; and my Counsel that 
you may remember it when I am no more. I would 
not, with my will, present you Sorrows, dear Bess ; let 
them go to the grave with me, and be buried in the dust: 
and seeing that it is not the will of God that 1 shall see 
you any more, bear my destruction patiently ; and with 
an heart like yourself. First, I send you all the thanks 
which my heart can conceive, or my words express, for 



336 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

your many travails and cares for me, which though they 
have not taken effect, as you wished, yet my debt to you 
is not the less ; but pay it I never shall in this world. 
Secondly, I beseech you for the love you bear me living, 
that you do not hide yourself many days ; but by your 
travails seek to help my miserable fortunes, and the 
right of your poor child ; your mourning cannot avail 
me, who am but dust. Thirdly, yoU shall understand, 
that my lands were conveyed, (bona fide) to my child; 
the writings were drawn at Midsummer was a twelve- 
month, as divers can witness ; and 1 trust my blood will 
quench their malice, who desired my slaughter, that 
they will not seek to kill you and yours with extreme 
poverty. To what friend to direct you I know not ; 
for all mine have left me in the true time of trial. Most 
sorry am I that being surprised by death, I can leave 
you no better estate ; God hath prevented all my de- 
terminations, that great God which worketh all in all. 
If you can live free from want, care for no more ; for 
the rest is but a vanity. Love God, and begin betimes; 
in him shall you find true, everlasting and endless c6m- 
fort : When you have travelled, and wearied yourself 
with all sorts of worldly cogitations, you shall sit down 
by sorrow in the end. Teach your son also to Serve 
and Fear God, whilst he is young, that the fear of God, 
may grow up in him ; then will God be an Husband to 
you, and a Father to him ; an Husband and a Father, 
that can never be taken from you. Dear wife, I beseech 
you, for my soul's sake. Pay all Poor Men. When I am 
dead, no doubt but you will be much sought unto ; for 
the world thinks I was very rich ; have a care of the fair 
pretences of men ; for no greater misery can befal you 
in this life, than to become a prey unto the world, and 
after to be despised. As for me, I am no more yours, 
nor you mine : Death has cut us asunder ; and God hath 
divided me from the world, and you from me. Remem- 
ber your poor child, for his father's sake, who loved you 
in his happiest estate. I sued for my life, but (God 
knows) it was for you and yours that I desired it : For 
know it, my dear wife, your child is the child of a True 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 337 

Man, who in his ov/n respect despiseth death, and his 
mishapen and ugly forms. I cannot write much ; God 
knows how hardly I steal this time, when all are asleep : 
And it is also time for me to separate my thoughts 
from the world. Beg my dead body, which living 
was denied you ; and either lay it in Sherburne, or in 
Exeter church, by my father and mother. I can say no 
more ; Time and death call me away. The everlasting 
God, powerful, infinite, and inscrutable, God Almighty, 
who is Goodness itself, the True Light and Life, 
keep you and yours, and have Mercy upon Me, and for- 
give my persecutors, and false accusers ; and send us to 
meet in his glorious kingdom. My dear wife, farewell ; 
bless my boy, pray for me ; and let my True God hold 
you both in his arms. 

** Yours that was, but not now my own, 

** WALTER RALEIGH." 



Behold wisdom, resolution, nature, and grace ! how 
strong in argument, wise in counsel, firm, affectionate, 
and devout. O that your heroes and politicians would 
make him their example in his death, as well as mag- 
nify the great actions of his life. I doubt .not, had he 
been to live over his days again, with his experience, he 
had made less noise, and yet done more good to the 
world and himself. It is a sad thing to consider, that 
men hardly come to know themselves, or the world, till 
they are ready to leave it. 

Sect. 13. Henry Wotton, knight, thought it, 
'* The greatest happiness in this life to be at leisure, to 
be, and to do good ;" as in his latter end he was wont to 
say, when he reflected on past times, though a man e^ 
teemed sober and learned, '* How much time have I to 
repent of, and how little to do it in !" 



338 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

Sect. 14. Sir Christopher Hatton, a little before 
his death, advised his relations to be serious in the search 
after '* the will of God in the Holy Word :" For, said 
he, it is deservedly accounted a piece of excellent know- 
ledge to understand the law of the land, and the customs 
of a man's country ; how much more to know the sta- 
tutes of heaven, and the laws of eternity ; those immu- 
table and eternal laws of justice and righteousness ! To 
know the will and pleasure of the Great Monarch and 
Universal King of the world ! ** I have seen an end of 
all perfection ; but thy commandments, O God, are ex- 
ceeding broad." Whatever other knowledge a man may 
be endued withal, could he by a vast and imperious 
mind, and an heart as large as the sand upon the sea 
shore, command all the knowledge of art and nature, of 
words and things ; could he attain a mastery in all lan- 
guages, and sound the depth of all arts and sciences ; 
could he discourse the interests of all states, the intrigues 
of all courts, the reason of all civil laws and constitutions, 
and give an account of all histories ; ** and yet not know 
the Author of his being, and the preserver of his life, 
his sovereign, and his judge : hiif surest refuge in trou- 
ble ; his best friend, or worst enemy ; the support of 
his life, and the hope of his death ; his future happiness, 
and his portion for ever ; he doth but sapienter d seen- 
dere in infernum^ with a great deal of wisdom go down 
to hell." 

Sect. 15. Francis Bacon, lord high chancellor of 
England, some time before his death confessed, '' That 
to be religious, was to live strictly and severely : For if 
the opinion of another world be false, yet the sweetest 
life in this world, is piety, virtue, and honesty : If it be 
true, there be none so wretched and miserable, as loose, 
carnal, profane persons." 

Sect. 16. The great duke of Momerancy, colleague 
to the duke of Orleans, brother to the French king 
Lewis the thirteenth, in the war by them agitated against 
the ministry of Cardinal Richlieu, being taken and con- 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 339 

victed at Lyons, a little before his beheading, looking 
upon himself, then very richly attired ; *' Ah ! says he, 
this becomes not a servant of the crucified Jesus ! What 
do I with these vanities about me ? He was poor, des- 
pised, and naked, when he went to the cross to die for 
my sins :" And immediately he stript himself of all 
his finery, and put a more ,^rave and modest garment on 
him. A serious reflection at a time when he best knew 
what was best. 

Sect. 17. Henry, prince of Wales, eldest son to king 
James the First, of whom others say many excellent 
things, hear what account he gives of himself at last : A 
person whom he loved, and that had been the companion 
of his diversions, being with him in his sickness, and 
asking him. How he did ? was, amongst many other 
sober expressions, answered thus, " Ah Tom ! I in 
vain wish for that time I lost with tliee, and others, in 
vain recreations." So vain were recreations, and so 
precious was time to a prince, and no ordinary one nei- 
ther, upon a dying-bed. But why wished he, with 
others, for more time, but that it might be better em- 
ployed ? Thus hath the Just Principle, and Holy Spirit 
of God in men, throughout all generations, convinced 
them of their vanity and folly upon their dying-beds, 
who before were too much taken up to mind either a 
dying-bed, or a vast eternity ; but when their days were 
almost numbered, when mortality hastened on them, 
when the revelation of the righteous judgment was at 
the door, and that all their worldly recreations and en- 
joyments must be parted with, and that eye for ever 
shut, and flesh turned to worms meat, that took delight 
therein ; then, oh, then it was the Holy Witness had 
room to plead with conscience : Then nothing but a 
holy, strict, and severe life was valuable; then** All 
the world for a little time," who before had given all 
their time for a little of a vain world. But if so short 
a representation of the inconsistency of the vanities of 
the world with the Christian life could make so deep an 

Xx 



340 NO CROS% NO CROWN. Part II. 

impression ; oh ! to wbit a noble stature, and large pro- 
portion, had they b€#i^' grown in all pious and heavenly 
knowledge, and how;' much greater had their rewards 
been, if they contentedly had foregone those perishing 
entertainments of the w^orld betimes, and given the ex- 
ercise of their minds to the tuition and guidance of that 
Universal Grace and Holy Spirit of God, which had so 
long shined in darkness, uncomprehended of it, and was 
at last but just perceived to give a sight of what they had 
been doing all their days. 

Sect. 18. Philip III. king of Spain, seriously reflect- 
ing upon the life he had led in the world, cried out 
upon his death-bed, *' Ah, how happy were I, had I 
spent these twenty-three years that I have held my king- 
dom, in a retirement !" Crying out to his confessor, 
" My concern is for my soul, not my body : I lay all 
that God lias given me, my dominion, power, and my 
life, at the feet of Jesus Christ my Saviour." Would 
kings v/ould live, as well as die so ! 

Sect. 19. Count Gondamor, ambassador in Eng- 
land for that very king, and held the ablest man of his 
time, who took great freedom as to his religion in his 
politics, serving his ends by those w^ays that would best 
accomplish them. When towards his latter end, he 
grew very thoughtful of his past life ; and after all his 
negotiations and successes in business, said to one of 
his friends, " I fear nothing in the world more than sin." 
Often professing, *' He had rather endure hell than sin." 
So clear and strong were his convictions, and so exceed- 
ing sinful did sin appear to him, upon a serious consi- 
deration of his ways. 

Sect. 20. Cardinal RicHLiEu, after having been first 
minister of state of Europe, as well as of France, con- 
fessed to old Peter du Moulin, the famous Protestant of 
that country, '* That being forced upon many irregulari- 
ties by that which they call REASON OF STATE, 
he could not tell how to satisfy his conscience for seve- 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CliOWN. 341 

ral things ; and therefore had many temptations to doubt 
and disbelieve a God, another world, and the immortali- 
ty of the soul, and thereby to relieve his mind from any 
disquiet, but in vain : So strong, he said, was the notion 
of God on his soul, so clear the impression of him upon 
the frame of the world, so unanimous the consent of 
mankind, so powerful the convictions of his own con- 
science, that he could not but '• Taste the power of the 
world to come," and so live as one that must die, and so 
die as one that must live for ever." And being asked 
one day, Why he was so sad ? answered, Monsieur, Mon- 
sieur, *' the soul is a serious thing ; it must be either sad 
here for a moment, or be sad for ever." 

Sect. 21. Cardinal Mazarine, reputed the cunning- 
est statesman of his time, and who gave great proofs of 
it in the successes of the French crown under his mi- 
nistry : his aim was the Grandeur of the world, to which 
he made all other considerations submit : But, poor 
man ! he was of another mind a little before his death : 
For being awakened by the smart lashes of conscience, 
which represented his souPs condition very dismal with 
astonishment and tears he cried out, *' O my poor soul, 
what will become of thee ! Whither wilt thou go?" 
And spoke one day thus to the queen mother of France, 
Madam, your favours have undone me : Were I to 
live again, I would be a Capuchin, rather than a Cour- 
tier." 

Sect. 22. Count Oxcistern, chancellor of Sweder 
land, a person of the first quality, station, and ability in 
his own country ; and whose share and success, not 
only in the chief ministry of affairs in that kingdom, but 
In the greatest negotiations of Europe, during his time, 
made him no less considerable abroad. After all his 
knowledge and honour, being visited in his retreat from 
public business by commissioner Whitlock, ambassador 
to queen Christina, in the conclusion of their discourse, 
he said to the ambassador, '* I have seen much, and en- 
joyed much of this world ; but I never knew how to 



342 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part if: 

Live till now. I thank my good God that has given me 
time to know Him, and to know Myself. All the com- 
fort I have, and all the comfort I take, and which is 
more than the whole world can give, is Feeling the 
Good Spirit of God in my heart, and reading in this 
good book, holding up the bible, that came from it." 
And farther addressed himself thus to the ambassador : 
f * You are now in the prime of your age and vigour, and 
in great favour and business : but this will all leave you, 
and you will one day better understand and relish what 
I say to you : and then you will find that there is more 
ivisdom, truth, comfort, and pleasure in retiring and 
turning your heart from the w^orld, to the good Spirit 
of God, iand in reading the bible, than in ail the courts 
and favours of princes." This I had, as near as I am 
able to remember, from the ambassador's own mouth 
more than once. A very edifying history, when we 
consider from whom it came ; one of the greatest and 
wisest men of his age ; while his understanding was as 
sound and vigorous, as his experience and knowledge 
were great. 

Sect. 23. Dr. Donne, a great poet, taking his fare- 
well of his fiiend"!), on his dyii\g-bed, left this saying be- 
hind him, for them to measure their fancies and their 
actions by : " 1 repent of all my life, but that part of it 
I spent in communion with God, and doing good.'* 

Sect. 24. Selden, one of the greatest scholars and 
antiquaries of his time ; one who had taken a diligent 
survt-y of what knowledge was considerable amongst 
the Jews, Heathens, and Christians : at last professeth 
this, toward the end of his days, in his conference with 
bishop Usher, " That notwithstanding he had been so 
laborious in his inquiries, and curious in his collections, 
and had possessed himself of a treasure of books and 
manuscripts upon all ancient subjects ; yet he could rest 
his soul on none, save the scriptures :" And above all, 
that passage lay most remarkable upon his spirit, Titus 
li. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. <* For the grace of God, that 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CllOWN. 343 

bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men ; teach- 
ing us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this pre- 
sent world ; looking for that blessed hope, and glorious 
appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus 
Christ ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem 
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar 
people, zealous of good works : These things speak 
and exhort, and rebuke with all authority." And in- 
deed it is one of the most comprehensive passages in 
scripture ; for it comprises the End, Means, and Re> 
compense of Christianity. 

Sect. 25. Hugo Grotius, than whom these latter 
ages think they have not had a man of more universal 
knowledge, a light, say the Statesmen ; a light, say the 
Churchmen too, witness his '' Annals," and his book, 
^' De Jure Belli &, Pacis ;" also his '' Christian Reliarion, 
and Elaborate Commentaries." He winds up his life and 
choice in this remarkable saying, which should abate 
the ed,^e of other men's inordinate desires after what 
they falsely call learning : namely, *' I would give all 
my learning and honour for the plain integrity of Jean 
Urick," who was a religious poor man, that spent eight 
hours of his time in prayer, eight in labour, and but 
eight in meals, sleep, and other necessaries. And to 
one that admired his great industry, he returned this by 
way of complaint : " Ah ! I have consumed my life in 
laboriously doing nothing" And to another, that in- 
quired of his wisdom and learning what course to take ? 
He solemnly answered, " Be serious." Such was the 
sense he had, how much a serious life excelled, and was 
of force, towards a dying hour. 

Sect. 25, To whom I join Salmatius, that famous 
French scholar, and ihe other's contemporary ; who 
after his many voiumes of learning, by which he had 
acquired great veneration among men of books, con- 
fessed so far to have mistaken True Learning, and that 
in which solid happiness consists, that he exclaimed thus 



S44 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

against himself: *'Oh1 I have lost a world of time! 
Time, that most precious thing in the world ! Where- 
of, had I but one year more, it should be spent in David's 
Psalms and Paul's Epistles. Oh, Sirs ! said he to those 
about him^ Mind the World less, and God more. The 
fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from 
evil, that is understanding. ="' 

Sect. 27. Francis Junius, an ingenious person, 
who hath written his own life ; as he was reading *' TuUy 
de Legibus," fell into a persuasion, '• Nihil curare 
Deum^ nee sui nee alieni ;" till in a tumult in Lyons the 
Lord wonderfully delivered him from imminent death ; 
so that he was forced to acknowledge a divine Providence 
therein. And his father hearing the dangerous ways 
that his son was misled into, sent for him home, where 
he carefully and piously instructed him, and caused him 
to read over the New Testament ; of which he himself 
writeth thus : '^ When I opened the New Testament, 
I first lighted upon John's first chapter, *' In the begin- 
ning was the Word," Sec. I read part of the chapter, 
and was suddenly convinced, that the Divinity of the 
Argument, and the majesty and authority of the writing, 
did exceedingly excel all the eloquence of Human Writ- 
ings : My body trembled, my mind was astonished, and 
was so affected all that day, that I knew not where 
and what I was. Thou wast mindful of me, O my God, 
according to the multitude of thy mercies, and calledst 
home thy lost sheep into the fold." And as Justin 
Martyr of old, so he of late professed, '' That the pow- 
er of godliness, in a plain simple Christian, wrought so 
upon him, that he could not but take up a strict and a 
serious life." 

Sect. 28. A. Rive Tus, a man of learning, and much 
reverenced in the Dutch nation, after a long life of 
study, in search of divine knowledge, upon his death-bed, 
being discoursed by his friend of heavenly things, brake 
forth in this manner ; '* God has learned me more of him- 

-? Prov. ix. 10. andxvi. 17. 



Part IL NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 345 

self in ten days sickness, than I could get by all my La- 
bour and Studies.'' So near a way, so short a cut it is 
to the knowledge of God, when people come into the 
Right Way, which is, To turn in their minds and hearts 
to the voice of God, and learn of him, who is a Spirit, 
to be taught of him, and led by him : ** For in righ- 
teousness such shall be established, and great shall be 
their peace." 

Sect. 29. A Letter from James earl of Marlbo- 
rough, a little before his death, in the battle at sea, on 
the coast of Holland, &c. 

<< I BELIEVE the goodness of your nature, and 
the friendship you have always borne me, will receive 
with kindness the last office of your friend. I am in 
health enough of body, and, through the mercy of God 
in Jesus Christ, well disposed in mind. This I premise, 
that you may be satisfied that what I write proceeds not 
from any fantastic terror of mind, but from a sober reso- 
lution of what concerns myself, and earnest desire to do 
you more good after my death, than mine example, God 
of his mercy pardon the badness of it, in my life-time may 
do you harm. I will not speak aught of the vanity of 
this world ; your own age and experience will save that 
labour ; but there is a certain thing that goeth up and 
down the world, called Religion, dressed and pretend- 
ed fantastically, and to purposes bad enough ; which 
yet, by such evil dealing, loseth not its being. The 
Great Good God hath not left it without a witness, more 
or less, sooner or later, in every man's bosom to direct 
us in the pursuit of it ; and for the avoiding of those in- 
extricable disquisitions and entanglements our own 
frail reasons would perplex us withal. God in his in- 
finite mercy haih given us his Holy Word ; in which, 
as there are many things hard to be understood, so there 
is enough plain and easy to quiet our minds, and direct 
us concerning our future being. I confess to God and 
you, I have been a great neglecter, and, I fear, despiser 
of it : God of his infinite mercv pardon me the dreadful 



346 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part IL 

fault. But when I retired myself from the noise and 
deceitful vanity of the world, I found no true comfort 
in any other resolution, than what I had from thence. 
I commend, from the bottom of my heart, the same to 
your (I hope) happy use. Dear Hugh, let us be more 
generous, than to believe we die as the beasts that per- 
ish ; but with a Christian, manly, brave resolution, 
look to what is eternal. I will not trouble you farther. 
The only Great God and Holy God, Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, direct you to an happy end of your life, and 
send us a joyful resurrection ! 

So prays your true friend, 

Marlborough." 

Sect. 30. The late Sir Henry Vane must be too 
fresh in memory to need a character ; but it is certain 
his parts were of the first rate, and superior to the gene- 
rality of men ; yet he w^ould often say, '' He owed them 
to religion." In his youth he was much addicted to 
company, and promised little to business ; but in read- 
ing of a book called " The Signs of a Godly Man," and 
being convicted in himself that they were just, but that 
he had no share in any one of them ; he fell into that ex- 
treme Anguish and Horror, that for some Days and 
Nights he took little food or rest ; which at once dis- 
solved his old friendships, and made those impressions 
and resolutions to religion, that neither University, 
Courts, Princes, nor Parents, nor any Losses, or Dis- 
appointments, that threatened his New Course of Life, 
could weaken or alter. And though this laid him unier 
some disadvantages for a time, his great integrity and 
abilities quickly broke through that obscurity ; so that 
those of very differing sentiments did not only admire, 
but very often desired him to accept the most eminent 
negotiations of his country; which he served according 
to his own principles, with great success, and a remark- 
able self-denial. This great man's maxim was, *' Reli- 
gion was the Best Master, and the Best Friend ; for it 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 347 

made men wise, and would never leave them that never* 
left it ;" which he found true in himself : For as it made 
him wiser than those that had been his teachers, so it 
made him firmer than any hero, having something more 
than nature to support him, which was the judgment as 
well of foreigners as others, that had the curiosity to see 
him die ; making good some meditations of his own, 
viz. ** The Day of Death is the judge of all our other 
days ; the very trial and touchstone of the actions of our 
life. It is the end that crowns the work, and a Good 
Death honoureth a man's whole life. The fading cor- 
ruption and loss of this life, is the passage into a better. 
Death is no less essential to us, than to live or to be born. 
In flying Death, thou fliest thyself; thy essence is equally 
parted into these two. Life and Death. It is no small 
reproach to a Christian, whose faith is in immortality, 
and the blessedness of another life, to fear Death much, 
which is the necessary passage thereunto." 

Sect. 31. Abraham Cowley, whom to name, is 
enough with the men of wit of our time and nation, 
speaks not less in favour of the Temperance and Soli- 
tude so much laboured in the preceding discourse t 
Yet that his judgment may have the more force with 
the reader, it may be fit that I should say, That he was 
a man of a sweet and singular wit, great learning, and 
an even judgment ; that had known what cities, univer- 
sities, and courts could afford ; and that not only at 
home, but in divers nations abroad. Wearied with the 
world, he broke through all the entanglements of it ; and 
which was hardest, great friendship and a perpetual 
praise ; and retired to a solitary cottage near Barn-Elms, 
where his garden was his pleasure^ and he his own gard- 
ener : Whence he giveth us this following doctrine of 
retirement, which may serve for an account how well he 
was pleased in his change. " The first work, (saith he) 
that a man must do to make himself capable of the good 
of solitude, is the very eradication of all lusts ; for how 
is it possible for a man to enjoy himself, while his af- 
fections are tied to things without himself. The first 

Y V 



348 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part 11. 

minister of state hath not so much business in public, as 
a wise man hath in private : If the one have little leisure 
to be alone, the other hath less leisure to be in company ; 
the one hath but part of the affairs of one nation, the 
other all the works of God and nature under his consi- 
deration. There is no saying shocks me so much, as 
that which I hear very often, '' That a man doth not 
know how to pass his time." '* It would have been but 
ill spoken of Methuselah, in the nine hundred sixty-ninth 
year of his l^ife. But that is not to deceive the world, 
but to deceive ourselves, as Quintilian saith, Vitam 
fuller €, To draw on still, and amuse and deceive our 
life, till it be advanced insensibly to the fatal period, and 
fall into that pit which nature hath prepared for it. The 
meaning of all this is no more, than that most vulgar 
saying, Bene qui latuit, bene vixit ; He hath lived well, 
who hath lain well hidden. Which, if it be a truth, the 
world is sufficiently deceived ; For my part, I think it 
is ; and that the pleasantest condition in life is in incog- 
nito. What a brave privilege is it, to be free from all 
contentions, from all envying, or being envied, from re- 
ceiving and from paying all kind of ceremonies ! We 
are here among the vast and noble scenes of nature ; 
Hve are there among the pitiful shifts of policy : We 
walk here in the light, and open ways of the divine 
bounty ; we grope there in the dark and confused la- 
byrinths of human malice : Our senses are here feasted 
with the clear and genuine taste of their objects ; which 
are all sophisticated there ; and, for the most part over- 
whelmed with their contraries. Here pleasure looks, 
methinks, like a beautiful, constant, and modest w^ife ; 
it is there an impudent, fickle, and painted harlot. 
Here is harmless and cheap plenty : There, guilty 
and expenceful luxury. The antiquity of this art is 
certainly not to be contested by any other. The three 
first men in the world, were a Gardener, a Ploughman, 
and a Grazier : And if any man object. That the se- 
cond of these was a Murderer ; 1 desire he would consi- 
der, that as soon as he was so, he quitted our Profession, 
and turned Builder. It is for this reason, I suppose, 



Part U. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 349 

that the son of Sjrach forbids us to hate husbandry ; be- 
cause (saith he) the Most High hath created it. We 
were all born to this art, and taught by nature to nourish 
our bodies by the same earth out of which they were 
made, and to which they must return, and pay at 
last for their sustenance. Behold the Original and Primi- 
tive Nobility of all those Great persons, who are too 
proud now not only to Till the ground, but almost to 
tread upon it. We may talk what we please of lilies 
and lions rampant, and spread eagles in fields d'or, or 
d'argent ; but if heraldry were guided by Reason, a 
Plough in a Field Arable would be the most noble 
and ancient arms.'* 



Blest be the man (and blest is he) whome'er, 

(Plac'd far out of the roads of Hope or Fear) 

A little Field, a little Garden, feeds ; 

The Field gives all that Frugal nature needs : 

The wealthy Garden lib'rally bestows 

All she can ask, when she Luxurious grows. 

The specious inconveniences that wait 

Upon a life of business and of state, 

He sees (nor doth the sight disturb his rest) 

By Fools desir'd, by Wicked men possest. 

Ah wretched, and too Solitary, he 

Who loves not his own Company : 

He'll feel the weight oft many a day. 

Unless he call in sin or vanity 

To help to bear't away. 

Out of Martial, he gives us this following epigrafiDi 
which he makes his by Translation and Choice, to tell his 
own Solitude by : I place it here as his. 

Would you be free ? 'Tis your chief wish you say: 
Come on ; I'll shew thee, friend, the certain way : 
If to no feasts abroad thou lov'st to go, 
Whilst bounteous God doth bread at home bestow : 



^50 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

If thou the goodness of thy clothes dost prize 
By thy own Use, and not by others Eyes ; 
If only safe from Weathers, thou canst dwell 
In a small House, but a convenient Shell j 
If thou without a Sigh or Golden Wish 
Canst look upon thy Beechen Bowl, or Dish ; 
If in thy mind such Power and Greatness he, 
The Persian King's a Slave, compar'd with thee. 

Whilst this hard truth I teach, methinks I see 
The monster, London, laugh at me ; 

I should at thee too, foolish city* 
If it were fit to laugh at Misery ; 

But thy estate I pity. 
Let but thy wjcked men from out thee go, 
And all the fools that crowd thee so ; 

Even thou who dost thy millions boast, 
A Village less than Islington wilt grow; 

A Solitude almost. 

I shall conclude him with this prayer of his own, 

For the few hours of life allotted me, 

Give me (great God) but Bread and Liberty ; 

I'll beg no more ; if more thou'rt pleas'd to give, 

I'll thankfully that Overplus receive. 

If beyond This no more be freely sent, 

I'll thank for This, and ^o away content. 

Here ends the wit, the praise, the learning, the city, 
the court, with Abraham Cowley, that once knew and 
had them all. 

Sect. 32. The late Earl of Rochester was inferior 
to nobody in wit, and hardly any body ever used it 
worse, if we believe him against himself in his Dying 
P flections : An account of which 1 have had from some 
that visited him in his sickness, besides that larger one 
tnade public by the present bishop of Salisbury. It was 
then that he came to think there was a God, for he felt 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 351 

his lashes on his conscience ; and that there was such a 
thing as Virtue, and a Reward for it. Christianity was 
no longer a worldly or absurd design : But Christ a Sa- 
viour, and a most Merciful one; and his doctrines plain, 
just, and reasonable, and the true way to felicity here 
and hereafter : Admiring and adoring that mercy to him, 
which he had treated with so much infidelity and obsti- 
nate contempt : Wishing only for more life to confute 
his past one, and in some measure to repair the injuries 
he had done to religion by it : Begging forgiveness for 
Christ's sake, though he thought himself the most un- 
worthy of it for his Own. Thus died that witty Lord 
Rochester ; and this retreat he made from the world 
he had so great a name in. May the loose wits of the 
times, as he desired, take Warning by him, and not 
leave their Repentance to a Dying- bed. 

Sect. 33. A noble young man of the family of How- 
ard, having too much yielded to the temptations of 
youth, when upon his sick-^bed, which proved his Dy- 
ing bed, fell under the power and agony of great con- 
victions, mightily bewailing himself in the remembrance 
of his former extravagancies ; crying strongly to God to 
forgive him, abhorring his former course, and promising 
amendment, if God renewed hfe to him. However, 
he was willing to die, having tasted of the love and for- 
giveness of God ; warning his acquaintance and kin- 
dred that came to see him, to fear God, and forsake 
the pleasures and vanity of this world : And so willingly 
yielded his soul fTom the troubles of time, and frailties 
of mortality. 

Sect. 34. The late princess Elizabeth of the Rhine, 
of right claimeth a memorial in this discourse ; her vir- 
tue giving greater lustre to her name than her quality, 
which yet was of the greatest in the German empire. 
She chose a single life as freest of care, and best suit- 
ed to the study and meditation she was always inclined 
tp ; and the chiefest diversion she took, next the air, 
was in some such plain and housewifely entertainment, 



352 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

as knitting, Sec. She had a small territory which she go- 
verned so well, that she shewed herself fit for a greater. 
She would constantly, every Last Day in the week, sit 
in judgment, and hear and determine causes herself; 
where her patience, justice, and mercy were admirable ; 
frequently remitting her forfeitures, where the party was 
poor, or otherwise meritorious. And, which was ex- 
cellent, though unusual, she would temper her dis- 
courses with Religion, and strangely draw concerned 
parties to submission and agreement; exercising^ not so 
much the rigour of her power, as the power of her per« 
suasion. Her meekness and humility appeared to me 
extraordinary. She never considered the quality, but 
the merit of the people she entertained. Did she hear 
of " a retired man, hid from the world, and seeking 
after the knowledge of a better," she was sure to set 
him down in the catalogue of her charity, if he wanted 
it ; 1 have casually seen, L believe, Fifty Tokens sealed 
and superscribed to the several poor subjects of her 
bounty, whose distances would not suffer them to know 
one another, though they knew her, whom yet some of 
them had never seen. Thus, though she kept " no sump- 
tuous table in her own court, she spread the tables of the 
poor in their solitary Cells ; breaking bread to virtuous 
pilgrims according to their want, and her ability. Abste- 
mious in herself, and in apparel void of all vain orna- 
ments." 

I must needs say, her mind had a noble prospect : 
Her eye was to a better and more lasting inheritance 
than can be found below ; which made her often to des- 
pise the greatness of courts, and learning of the schools, 
of which she was an extraordinary judge. Being once at 
Hamburgh, a religious person, whom she went to see 
for religion's sake, telling her, '' It was too great an ho- 
nour for him, that he should have a visitant of her quali- 
ty come under his roof, that was allied to so many great 
kings and princes of this world;" she humbly answer- 
ed, *' If they were godly as well as great, it would be an 
honour indeed ; but if you knew what that greatness 
was, as well as I, you would value less that honour." 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 355 

Being in some agony of spirit, after a religious meeting 
we had in her own chamber, she said, 'Mt is an hard 
thing to be faithful to what one knows ; Oh the way is 
strait ! I am afraid I am not weighty enough in my 
spirit to walk in it." After another meeting she utter- 
ed these words ; ** I have records in my library, that 
the Gospel was first brought out of England hither in- 
to Germany by the English, and now it is come again." 
She once withdrew, on purpose to give her servants the 
liberty of discoursing us, that they might the more 
freely put what questions of conscience they desired to 
be satisfied in ; for they were religious : Suffering both 
them, and the poorest of her town, to sit by her, in her 
own bed-chamber, where we had two meetings. I can- 
not forget her Last Words when I took my leave of 
her : *' Let me desire you to remember me, though I 
live at this distance, and that you should never see me 
more. I thank you for this good time ; and know, and 
be assured, though my condition subjects me to divers 
temptations, yet my soul hath strong desires after the 
best things." She lived her single life till about sixty 
years of age, and then departed at her own house in 
Herwerden, which was about* two years since; as 
much lamented, as she had lived beloved of the peo- 
ple : To whose Real Worth, I do, with Religious 
Gratitude for her kind reception, dedicate this memo- 
rial. 

Sect. 35. BuLSTRODE Whitlock has left his own 
character in his '' Memorials of English affairs ;" a book 
that shows both his employments and greater abilities. 
He was almost ever a commissioner and companion with 
those great men, that the lords, and commons of En- 
gland, at several times, appointed to treat with King 
Charles L for a peace. He was commissioner of the 
great seal, ambassador to the crown of Svvedeland, and 
sometimes president of the council : A scholar, a law^ 

* She died in 1680. And this passage was inserted in a second edition of tliit 
treatise, an. 1682. 



354 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. pARt It 

yer, a statesman ; in short, he was one of the most ac- 
complished men of the age. Being with him sometimes 
at his own house in Berkshire, where he gave me that 
account I have related of chancellor Oxcisiern, amongst 
many serious things he spoke, this was very observable. 
*' I ever have thought,'* said he, ''there has been One 
True Religion in the world ; and that is, the work of 
the Spirit of God in the hearts and souls of men. There 
have been indeed divers forms and shapes of things, 
through the many dispensations of God to men, answer- 
able to his own wise ends, in reference to the low and 
uncertain state of man in the world, but the Old World 
had the Spirit of God, for it strove with them ; and the 
New World has had the Spirit of God, both Jew and 
Gentile ; and it strives with all ; and they that have been 
led by it, have been the good people in every dispensa- 
tion of God to the world. And I myself must say, I 
have felt it from a child to convince me of my evil and 
vanity ; and it has often given me a true measure of 
this poor world, and some taste of divine things ; and 
it is my grief I did not more early apply my soul to it. 
For I can say, since my retirement from the greatness 
and hurries of the world, I have felt something of the 
work and comfort of it, and that it is both ready and 
able to instruct, and lead, and preserve those that will 
humbly and sincerely hearken to it. So that my religion 
is the Good Spirit of God in my heart ; I mean, what 
that has wrought in me and for me.*' After a meeting at 
his house, to which he gave an entire liberty for all that 
pleased to come, he was so deeply affected with the tes- 
timony of the Light, Spirit, and Grace of Christ in 
Man, as the Gospel Dispensation, that after the meet- 
ing closed in prayer, he rose up, and pulled off his hat, 
and said, " This is the Everlasting Gospel I have heard 
this day ; and I humbly bless the name of God, that 
he has let me live to see this day, in which the Ancient 
Gospel is again preached to them that dwell upon the 
earth.^' 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 355 

Sect. 36. A sister of the family of Penn, ofPenn, 
in Buckinghamshire, a young woman delighting in the 
finery and pleasures of the world, was seized with a 
violent illness, that proved mortal to her. In the time 
of her sickness she jPell into great distress of soul, bit- 
terly bewailing the want of that inward peace which 
makes a death- bed easy to the righteous. After several 
days languishing, a little consolation appeared after this 
manner. She was some hours in a kind of a Trance ; 
she apprehended she was brought into a place where 
Christ was ; to whom could she but deliver her petition, 
she hoped to be relieved. But her endeavours increased 
her pain ; for as she pressed to deUver it^ *' He turned 
his back upon her," and would not so much as look 
towards her. But that which added to her sorrow, was. 
That she beheld others admitted." However, she gave 
not over importuning him : And when almost ready to 
faint, and her hope to sink, " he turned one side of his 
face towards her, and reached forth his hand, and receiv- 
ed her request : at which her troubled soul found im* 
mediate consolation." Turning to those about her, she 
repeats what had befallen her ; adding, '' Bring me my 
new clothes ; take off the lace and finery." And charged 
her relations, ** Not to deck and adorn themselves af- 
ter the manner of the world ; for that the Lord Jesus, 
whom she had seen, appeared to her in the likeness of a 
Plain Country Man, without any trimming or orna- 
ment whatever ; and that his servants ought to be like 
him*" 

Sect. 37. My own Father, after thirty years em- 
ployment with good success, in divers places of em- 
inent trust and honour in his own country ; upon a seri- 
ous reflection not long before his death, spoke to me in 
this manner, " Son VVilliam, I am weary of the world ; 
I would not live over my days again, if I could command 
them with a wish ; for the snares of life are greater than 
the fears of death. This troubles me, that I have offend^ 
ed a gracious God, that has followed me to this day. O 
have a care of sin ! That is the sting both of life and 

Zz 



356 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

death. Three things I commend to you :" First, '* Let 
nothing in this world tempt you to wrong your Con- 
science :" ''I charge you, do nothing against your 
conscience ; so wdll you keep peace at home, which 
Vv ill be a feast to you in a day of trouble. Secondly, 
Whatever you design to do," '' lay it justly, and time 
it seasonably ;" *' for that gives security and dispatch. 
Lastly, Be not troubled at disappointments ;" '* for if 
thej^ may be recovered, do it ; if they cannot, trouble is 
vain. If you could not have helped it, be content ; 
there is often peace and profit in submitting to Provi- 
dence : for afflictions make wise. If you could have 
helped it, let not your trouble exceed instruction for an- 
other time : These rules will carry you with firmness 
and comfort through this inconstant world." At another 
time he inveighed against the profaneness and impiety 
of the age ; often crying out, with an earnestness of 
spirit, '' Wo to thee, O England ! God will judge thee, 
O England ! Plagues are at thy door, O England !" 
He much bewailed, That divers men in power, and 
tnany of the nobility and gentry of the kingdom, were 
grown so dissolute and profane ; often saying, ** God 
JSas forsaken us ; we are infatuated ; we will shut our 
eyes ; we will not see our true interests and happiness ; 
we shall be destroyed !" Apprehending the conse- 
quences of the growing looseness of the age to be our 
ruin ; and that the methods most fit to serve the king- 
dom with true credit at home and abroad, were too 
much neglected ; the trouble of which did not a little 
help to feed his distemper, which drew him daily nearer 
to his end : and as he believed it, so less concerned or 
disordered I never saw him at any time ; of which I took 
good notice. Wearied to live, as well as near to die, 
he took his leave of us ; and of me, with this expres- 
sion, and a most composed countenance : *' Son Wil- 
liam, if you and your Friends keep to your plain Way of 
Preaching, and keep to your plain Way of Living, you 
w^ill make an end of the priests to the end of the world. 
Bury me by my mother ; live all in love : shun all man- 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ^57 

ner of evil : And I pray God to bless you all ; and he 
will bless you.'* 

Sect. 38. i^NTHONY LowTHER, of Mask; a per- 
son of good sense, of a sweet temper, a just mind, and of 
a sober education ; when of age to be. under his own 
government, was drawn by the men of pleasure of the 
town into the usual freedoms of it, and was as much 
a judge as any body of the satisfaction that way of 
living could yield ; but some time before his sickness, 
with a free and strong judgment, he would frequently 
upbraid himself, and contemn the world, for those un- 
seasonable as well as unchristian liberties, that so much 
abound in it ; which apprehension increased by the in- 
struction of a long and sharp sickness : . He would often 
despise their folly, and abhor their guilt ; breathing, 
with some impatience, after the knowldge of the best 
things, and the best company ; losing as little time as 
he could, that he might redeem the time he had lost ; tes- 
tifying often, with a lively relish, to the truth of religion, 
from the sense he had of it in his own breast : Fre- 
quently professing, *' he knew no joy comparable to 
that of being assured of the Love and. Mercy of God." 
Which as he often implored with strong convictions, 
and a deep humility and reverence, so he had frequently 
tastes thereof before his last period ; pressing his rela- 
tions and friends, in a most serious and aiFectionate man- 
ner, to " love God and one another More, and this vile 
world less." And of this he was so full, it was almost 
ever the conclusion of his most inward discourses with 
his family ; though he sometimes said, ** he could have 
been willing to have lived, if God had pleased to see his 
younger children nearer a settlement in the world ; yet 
he felt no desire to live longer in the world, but on the 
terms of living better in it ;" For that he did not only 
think virtue the safest, but the Happiest way of living : 
Commending and Commanding it to his children upon 
his last blessing. 

I shall conclude this chapter of Retired, Aged, and 
Dying Persons, with some collections I have made out 



358 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part U. 

of the life of a person of great piety and quality of the 
French nation. 

Sect, 39. Du Renty, a young nobleman of France, 
^f admirable parts, as well as great birth, touched with 
a sense of the vanity of the world, and the sweetness of 
a retired and religious life, notwithstanding the honours 
and employments that waited for him, abandons the 
pride and pomp of the world, to enjoy a life of more 
communion with God: Do but hear him: '* I avow 
(saith he) that I have no gust in any thing, where I find 
not Jesus Christ. And for a soul that speaks not of 
him, or in which we cannot taste any effect of Grace 
flowing from his Spirit (which is the Principle of Opera- 
tions, both inward and outward, that are solidly Chris- 
tian) speak not to me at all of such an one. Could I (as 
I may say) behold both miracles and wonders there, and 
yet not Jesus Christ, nor hear any talk of Him, I count 
all but amusement of spirit, loss of time, and a very dan- 
gerous precipice. Let us encourage ourselves to lead 
this life unknown and wholly hid from men, but most 
known to, and ivitimate with God ; divesting ourselves, 
and chasing out of our minds all those many superflui- 
ties, and those many amusements, which bring with 
them so great a damage, that they take up our minds, 
instead of God. So that when I ^consider that which 
thwarts and cuts into so many pieces this holy, this sweet 
and amiable Unibn, which we should have continually 
With God, it appears, that it is only a monsieur, a ma- 
dame, a compliment, and chatting, indeed a mere fool- 
ery ; which, notwithstinding, doth ravish and wrest 
from us the time tliat is so precious, and the fellowship 
that is so holy and so desirable. Let us quit this, I pray 
you, and learn to court it with our own Master. Let 
us well understand our part, our own world (as we here 
phrase it) ; nut that world, I mean, which we do re- 
nounce, but that wherein the children of God do their 
duties to their Father. There is nothing in this world 
so separate fnm the world, as God ; and the greater the 
saints are, the greater is their retirement Into Him. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 359 

This our Saviour taught us whilst he lived on earth, 
being in all his visible employments united to God, and 
retired into the bosom of his Father. Since the time 
that I gave up my liberty to God, as I told you, I was 
given to understand, to what a state of Annihilation the 
soul must be brought, to render it capable of Union with 
him ; I saw my soul reduced into a small point, con- 
tracted and shrunk up to Nothing: And at the same 
time I beheld myself, as if encompassed with whatso- 
ever the world loves and possesseth ; and, as it were, a 
hand removing all this far from me, throwing it into the 
ocean of annihilation. In the first place, I saw removed 
all Exterior Things, Kingdoms, Great Offices, Stately 
Buildings, Rich Household-stufi', Gold and Silver, Re- 
creations, Pleasures ; all which are great Incumbran- 
ces to the soul's passing on to God ; of which there- 
fore his pleasure is, that she be stripped, that she may- 
arrive at the point of nakedness and death, which will 
bring her into possession of solid riches, and real life. 
Assure yourself, there is no security in any estate, but 
this of Dying and Annihilation ; which is, to be bap- 
tized into Christ's death, that we live the life of mortifi- 
cation. Our best way is therefore, to divest ourselves 
of All, that the Holy Child Jesus may govern all. All 
that can be imagined in this lower world, is of small con- 
cernment, thouti'h it were the losing of all our goods, 
and the death of all the men in it ; this poor ant-hill is 
not worthy of a serious thought. Had we but a little 
Faith, and a little Love, how happy should we esteem 
ourselves, in giving away all, to attend no more, save on 
God alone ; and to say, Deus meus^ ^ omnia! My God, 
and my All ! — Being (saith he) in a chapel richly wain- 
scoTted, and adorned with very excellent sculpture, and 
with imagery, I beheld it with some attention, having 
had somt skill \\\ these things, and saw the bundle of 
Howers-de-luces, and of flowers in form of borders, and 
of very curious workmanship ; it was on a sudden put 
into my mind, The Original of what thou seest, would 
not detain thee at ail in seeing it. And I perceived that 
indeed all these, and those flowers themselves (not in 



360 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

pictures) would not have taken me up ; and all the orna- 
ments which architecture and art invent, are but things 
most mean and low, running in a manner only upon 
Flowers, Fruits, Branches, Harpies, and Chimeras ; 
part whereof are, in their very being, but things com- 
mon and low, and part of them merely imaginary ; and 
yet man (who croucheth to every thing) renders himself 
amorous and a slave of them ; no otherwise than as if a 
Good workman should stand to copy out, and counter- 
feit, some trifles and fopperies. I considered by this 
sight how poor man was to be cheated, amused, and di- 
verted from his Sovereign Good. And since that time, 
I could make no more stand to consider any of these 
things : And if I did it, I should reproach myself for it ; 
as no sooner seeing them in churches, or elsewhere, but 
this is presently put upon my spirit. The Original is 
Nothing, the copy and the Image is yet less : Each 
thing is Vain, except the Employment of ourselves 
about Go D alone. An absolute Abnegation will be ne- 
cessary to all things, to follow in Simplicity, without 
Reserve or Reflection, what our Saviour shall work in 
us, or appoint for us, let it be this or that. This way 
was shewed me in which I ought to walk towards him ; 
and hence it is, that all things to me ordinarily are 
without any gust or delight. I assure you, it is a great 
shame to a Christian to pass his days in this world more 
at ease than Jesus Christ here passed his. Ah ! had we 
but a little faith, what repose could we take out of the 
cross?" 

I will conclude his sayings with his dying blessing to 
his surviving children. 

*' I pray God bless you ; and may it please him to 
bless you, and to preserve you by his Grace from the evil 
of the world, that you may have no part therein : and 
above all, my children, that you may live in the fear and 
love of God, and yield due obedience to your mother." 

Expressions of that weight and moment to the im- 
mortal good of men, that ihey abundantly prove^ to all 
sensible readers, that the author was a man of an en- 
lightened mind, and of a soul mortified to the world. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 361 

and quickened to some tastes of a supernatural life. 
Let his youth, let his quality, adorned with so much 
zeal and piety, so much self-denial and constancy, be- 
come exemplary to those of worldly quality, who may 
be the readers of this book. Some, perhaps, will hear 
that truth from the several authors I have reported, whose 
names, death and time have recovered from the envy of 
men, that would hardly endure it from me, if at all from 
the living. Be it as it will, I shall abundantly rejoice, 
if God shall please to make any part of this discourse 
eflfectual to persuade any into the love of holiness, 
" without which," certain it is, '' no man shall see the 
Lord : But the pure in heart shall behold him for ever." 
To conclude ; I cannot pass this reflection upon what 
is observed of the sayings of Dying Men, and which to 
me seems to have great instruction in it ; viz. All men 
agree, when they come to die, it is best to be Religious ; 
to live an Holy, Humble, Strict, and self-denying Life ; 
Retired, Solitary, Temperate, and Disencumbered of 
the World. Then loving God a^ove all, and our 
neighbours as ourselves, forgiving our enemies, and 
praying for them, are solid things, and the essential part 
of religion, as the true ground of man's happiness. Then 
all sin is *' exceeding sinful," and yields no more plea- 
sure : But every inordinate desire is burthensome, and 
severely reproved. Then the world, with all the lawful 
comforts in it, weighs light against that sense and judg- 
ment, which such men have between the temporal and 
the eternal. And since it is thus with dying men, what in- 
struction is it to the living, whose pretence, for the most 
part, is a perpetual contradiction ? O ! that men would 
learn to '' Number their days, that they might apply 
their hearts to wisdom;" of which " the fear of the 
Lord is the true and only beginning." And Blessed 
are they that fear always, for their feet shall be preserved 
from the snare of death." 



362 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II, 



CHAP. XXIL 



Sect. 1. Of the way of living amongst the first Christians. 2^ 
An Exhortation to all professing Christianity, to embrace 
the foregoing Reasons and Examples. 3. Plain dealing with 
such as reject them. 4. Their recompenses. 5. The Au- 
thor is better persuaded and assured of some : An Exhorta- 
tion to them. 6. Encouragement to the Children of Light to 
persevere from a consideration of the Excellency of their 
Reward ; the End and Triumph of the Christian Conqueror. 
The whole concluded with a brief Supplication to Almighty 
God. 

THE CONCLUSION. 

Sect. 1. JriAVING finished so many Testimonies, 
as my time would give me leave, in favour of this sub- 
ject, No Cross, No Crown; No Temperance, No 
Happiness; No Virtue, No Reward ; No Mortification, 
No Glorification : I shall conclude with a short descrip- 
tion of the life and worship of the Christians within 
the first century, or hundred years after Christ : What 
simplicity, what spirituality, what holy love and com- 
munion did in that blessed age abound among them ! It 
is delivered originally by Philo Judaeus, and cited by 
Eusebius Pamphilius, in his Ecclesiastical History ; 
That those Christians renounced their substance, and 
severed themselves from all the cares of this life ; and 
forsaking the cities, they lived solitary in fields and gar- 
dens. T hey accounted their company, who followed the 
contrary life of cares and bustles, as unprofitable and 
hurtful to them ; to the end that with earnest and fer- 
vent desires, they might imitate them which led this 
prophetiGal and heavenly life. In many places, says he. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. S6S 

this people liveth ; for it behoveth as well the Grecians as 
the Barbarians, to be partakers of this absolute good- 
ness ; but in Egypt, in every province they abound ; 
and especially about Alexandria. From all parts the 
better sort w^ithdrew themselves into the soil and place 
of these worshippers, as they were called, as a most com- 
modious place, adjoining to the Lake of Mary, in a val- 
ley very fit, both for its security and the temperance of 
the air. They are farther reported to have meeting- 
houses, where the most part o£ the day was employed in 
worshipping God : That they were great AUegorizers 
of the scriptures, making them all figurative : That the 
external show of words, or the letter, resembleth the 
superfices of the body ; and the hidden sense or under- 
standing of the words seem in place of the soul ; which 
they contemplate by their beholding names, as it were in 
a glass:"* That is, their religion consisted not chiefly 
in reading the letter, disputing about it, accepting things 
in Literal Constructions, but in the Things declared of, 
the substance itself, bringing things nearer to the mind, 
soul, and spirit, and pressing into a more hidden and 
heavenly sense ; making religion to consist in the Tem- 
perance and Sanctity of the Mind, and not in the formal 
Bodily Worship, so much now-a-days in repute, fitter 
to please Comedians than Christians. Such was the 
practice of those times : But now the case is altered ; 
people will be Christians, and have their worldly-mind- 
edness too : But though God's kingdom suffer violence 
by such, yet shall they never enter : The Life of Christ 
and his followers hath in all ages been another thing ; and 
there is but One Way, One Guide, One Rest ; all which 
are pure and holy. 

Sect. 2. But if any, notwithstanding our many sober 
reasons, and numerous testimonies from scripture, or 
the example or experience of religious, worldly and 
profane, living and dying men, at home and abroad, of 
the greatest note, fame, and learning, in the whole world, 

* Philo Judseus of the worship of Egvpt and Alexand. Euseb, Pam, Eccf^ 
Hist, !. 2. c. 17. 

3 A 



36 1 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

shall vet remain lovers and imitators of the follv and the 
vanity condemned ; if the cries and groans, sighs and 
tears, and complaints and mournful wishes of so many 
reputed great, nay, some sober men — " O that I had 
more time ! — O that I might live a year longer, I would 
live a stricter life ! — O that I were a poor Jean UrLck ! 
— All is vanity in this world : — O my poor soul, w^hi- 
ther wilt thou go ? — O that I had the time spent in vain 
recreations! — A serious life is above all;" and such- 
like ; if, I say, this by no means can prevail, but if yet 
they siall proceed to fo%, and follow the vain world, 
what greater evidence can they give of their heady reso- 
lution to go on impiously ; to despise God ; to disobey 
his precepts ; to deny Christ ; to scorn ; not to bear his 
cross ; to forsake the examples of his servants ; to give 
the lie to the dying serious sayings and consent of all 
ages ; to harden themselves against the checks of con- 
science ; to befool and sport away their precious time, 
and poor immortal souls to wo arid misery ? In short, it 
is plainly to discover you neither have Reason to justify 
yourselves, nor yet enough of Modesty to blush at your 
own folly ; but, as those that have lost the sense of one 
and the other, go on to '* eat and drink, and rise up to 
play." In vain therefore is it for you to pretend to fear 
the God of heaven, whose minds serve the god of the 
pleasure of this world : In vain it is to say, you believe 
in Christ, who receive not his self-denying doctrine : 
And to no better purpose will all you do, avail. If he 
that had loved '* God and his neighbour, and kept the 
commandments from his youth,'' was excluded from 
being a disciple, '* because he sold not all, and follow- 
ed Jesus ;" with what confidence can you call yourselves 
Christians, who have neither kept the commandments, 
nor yet forsaken any thing to be so ? And if it was a 
bar betwixt him and the eternal life he sought, that, 
notwithstanding all his other virtues, love to Money, and 
his external possessions, *' could not be parted with;"* 

« Exod.xxxii«f6. Amos vi. 3 to 6. Eph. iv, 17, 24. 2 Tim. ii. 19. Mat. xix- 
J6 to 22. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN- 36 



oOo 



what shall he your end, who cannot deny yourselves 
many less things, but are daily multiplying your inven- 
tions, to please your fleshly appetites ? Certainly, much 
more impossible is it to forsake the Greater. Christ 
tried his love, in bidding him forsake All, because he 
knew, for all his brags, that his mind was rivetted there- 
in ; not that if he had enjoyed his possessions with 
Christian Indifferency, they might not have been conti- 
nued : But what then is their doom, whose hearts are 
so fixed in the vanities of the w^orld, that they will rather 
make them Christian, than not to be Christians in the use 
of them ? But such a Christian this Young Man might 
have been, vv^ho had more to say for himself than the 
strictest Pharisee living dare pretend to ; yet ^' he went 
away sorrowful from Jesus."^ Should I ask you, if 
Nicodemus did well to come by night, and be ashamed 
of the great Messiah of the world ? And if he was not 
Ignorant when Christ spake to him of the New Birth ? 
I know you would answer me, '* He did very ill, and 
was very ignorant." But stay a w^hile, the beam is in 
your own eyes ; you are ready doubtless, to condemn 
Him, and the Young Man for not doing what you not 
only refuse to do yourselves, but laugh at Others for 
doing. Nay, had such passages not been written, and were 
it not for the reverence some pretend for the Scriptures, 
they would both be as stupid as Nicodemus in their an- 
swers to such heavenly matters, and ready to call it 
canting to speak so ; as it is frequent for you, when we 
speak to the same effect, though not the same words : 
just as the Jews, at what time they called God their Fa- 
ther, they despised his Son ; and when he spake of su- 
blime and heavenlv mvsteries, some cried, '' He has a 
devil;" others, *' He is mad:" and most of them, 
** These are hard sayings, who can bear them ?" 

Sect. 3. And to you all, that sport yourselves after 
the manners of the World, let me say, that you are those 
** who profess you know God, but in works deny 

*> John iii. 1 to 5. 



365 NO CROSS, NO CROWN- Part II. 

him ;"*" living in those pleasures which slay the Just in 
yourselves. For though you talk of believing, it is no 
more than taking it for granted that there is a God, a 
Christ, Scriptures, &c. without farther concerning your- 
selves to prove the verity thereof, to yourselves or 
others, by a strict and holy conversation : Which slight 
way of Believing, is but a light and careless way of rid- 
ding yourselves of farther examination ; and rather 
throwing them off with an inconsiderate granting of 
them to be so, than giving yourselves the trouble of 
making better inquiry, leaving that to your priests, oft- 
times more ignorant, and not less vain and idle, than 
yourselves, which is so far from a Gospel Faith, that it 
is the least respect you can show to God, Scriptures, 
&c. and next to which kind of Believing is nothing, 
under a Denial of all. 

But if you have hitherto laid aside all temptations to 
Reason and Shame, at least be entreated to resume 
them now in a matter of this importance, and whereon 
no less concernment rests, than your temporal and 
eternal happiness. " Oh ! retire, retire ; observe the 
reproofs of instruction in your own minds : that which 
begets sadness in the midst of mirth, which cannot so- 
lace itself, nor be contented below immortality ; which 
calls often to an account at nights, mornings, and other 
seasons ; which lets you see the vanity, the folly, the 
end, and misery of these things ; this is the Just Prin- 
ciple, and Holy Spirit of the Almighty within you : hear 
him, obey him^ converse with them who are led by him ; 
and let the glories of another world be eyed, and the 
heavenly recompense of reward kept in sight." Admit 
not the thoughts of former follies to revive; but be 
steady, and continually exercised by his Grace, " to deny 
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to Hve soberly, righ- 
teously and godly in this present world."' For this is 
the true and heavenly nature of Christianity, ** To be so 
awakened and guided by the Spirit and Grace of God, 
as to leave the sins and vanities of the world, and to have 

» Titus i. 16. d Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13, 14. 



Part II. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 367 

the affections regenerated, the mind reformed, and the 
whole man baptized into purity and fai'hfuhiess towards 
God and man, as to act with reverence, justice, and 
mercy. To care for very few things ; to be content 
with what you have ; to use all as if you used them 
not ; and to be so disentangled from the lusts, plea- 
sures, profits, and honours of the world, as to have the 
mind raised to things above, the heart and affections fix- 
ed there : that in all things you may glorify God, and 
be as lights set on a hill, whose shining examples may 
be conducing to the happiness of others, who behold- 
ing such good works, may be converted, and glorify 
God the Father of lights, in whom you all would be 
eternally blessed." 

Sect. 4. But if the impenitence of any is so great, 
their pursuit of folly as earnest, and, notwithstanding 
what has been thus seriously offered to reclaim them, 
they are resolved to take their course, and not to be at 
leisure for more divine things, I have this farther to leave 
with them from the Almighty, who first called me to 
th's work ; *' That tribulation, anguish, and sorrow 
shall make their dying-beds ; indignation and wrath 
shall wind up their days , and trouble and vexation of 
mind and spirit shall be the miserable fruits which they 
shall reap, as the reward of all their wretched folly and 
rebellion !"^ Be not deceived, God will not be mocked : 
It is so irreversibly decreed ; Whatsoever is sown here, 
shall be reaped hereafter." And just is the Almighty, 
to make good his determinations upon such, who in- 
stead of employing the time given them, to " workout 
their salvation with fear and trembling," have spent it 
in the pleasures of the flesh, which perisheth ; as if their 
heaven were here. Nor can it seem unreasonable, since 
he hath thus long waited with Remission of Sins and 
Eternal Life in his hand, to distribute to them that 
Repent ; that if such will not, to recompense so great 



•« Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6. 9. f Gal. vi. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 



368 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part II. 

obstinacy, and love of this perishing world, with ever- 
lasting tribulation.^ 

Sect. 5. But I am otherwise persua(;3ed of many ; yes, 
I am assured the mercies of the everlasting God have 
been so extended to many, that this will prove an effec- 
tual call to bring them out of the ways and customs of 
this corrupted and corrupting world ; and a means for 
establishing such, who hitherto have been unfaithful to 
what they have been already convinced of. And you, 
my friends, whose minds have received the Alarm, 
*' whose hearts have truly heard the voice of one crying 
in the Wilderness, where you have been straying from 
the Lord, Repent, Repent !" to you, in the name of the 
Great and Living God, I speak, I cry, ** Come, away, 
come away ; ah ! what do you do there ? Why are you 
yet behind ? That is not your rest : it is poHuted with 
the sins and vanities of a perishing world : Gird up 
your loins; eye your Light (One in AH) Christ Jesus, 
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ; who hath en- 
lightened every one : Follow him ; he will lead you to 
the city of God, that has foundations, into which the 
wicked cannot enter. "^ 

Sect. 6. Mind not the difficulties of your march; 
great and good things were never enterprised and ac- 
complished without difficulty ; which does but render 
their enjoyment more pleasant and glorious in the end^ 
Let the holy men and women of old be your examples ; 
remember good old Abraham, the excellency of whose 
faith is set out by his obedience to the voice of God, 
in forsaking his father's house, kindred, country, &c. 
And Moses, that might in probability have been made 
a king, by faith in God, leaves Egypt's glory, and 
Pharaoh's favours, and chooses rather to sojourn and 
pilgrimage with the despised, afflicted, tormented Israel- 
ites in the wilderness, than to enjoy the pleasures of 
that great court for a season ; esteeming Christ's re- 

g Rev. iii. 20. and xxi. 27. and xxii. 13, 14, 15. * John i. 9. 



Part JJ. NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 3G9 

proaches greater riches than Egypt's treasures. But, 
above all, how great was the reproach, how many the 
sufferings, how bitter the mockings, which Jesus suf- 
fered at the hands of his enemies ? Yet with what pa- 
tience, meekness, forgiveness, and constancy, did he in 
all his actions demean himself towards his bloody perse- 
cutors, *' despising the shame, enduring the cross, for 
the joy that was set before him ? And hath left us this 
glorious example, that we should follow his steps ;"' 
which hath in almost every age been imitated by some. 
The apostles sealed their testimonies with their blood, 
and multitudes after the example of their constancy ; 
esteeming it the greatest honour, as it was alw^ays at- 
tended with the signallest demonstrations of the Divine 
Presence. How memorable was that of Origen ? "If 
my father were weeping upon his knees before me, and 
my mother hanging about my neck behind me, and all 
my brethren, sisters, and kinsfolk lamenting on every 
side, to retain me in the life and practice of the world, 
I would fling my mother to the ground, run over my fa- 
ther, despise all my kindred, and tread them under my 
feet, that I might run to Christ." Yet it is not unknown, 
how dutiful and tender he was in those relations. Not 
mucji unlike to this, was that noble and known instance 
of latter times, in Galeacius Caracciolus, marquis of 
Vice, who abandoned his friends, estate and country, 
resolutely saying with Moses, *' That he would rather 
sufier afflictions with the first reformers and protestants, 
than enjoy his former plenty, favours and pleasures with 
bis old religion." Nor is it possible for any now to quit 
the world, and live a serious godly life in Christ, with- 
out the like suffering and persecution. There are among 
us also some who have suffered the displeasure of their 
most dear and intimate relations and friends ; and all 
those troubles, disgraces, and reproaches, which are ac- 
customed to attend such, as decline the '* honours, plea- 
sures, ambition, and preferments of the world, and that 

' Gen. xii. 1, 2. Heb. xi. 24 to 2r. Isa Uv. 3. Heb. xii. 1, 2. 1 Pet. ii. 
21, 22, 23. 



sro NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Part Ih 

choose to live an bumble, serious, and self-denying life 
before the Lord :" But they are very unequal to the 
joy and recompense that follow. For though there be 
no affliction that is not grievous for the present, yet 
what says the man of God ? *' It works a far more ex- 
ceeding weight of glory in the end."^ This has been 
both the faith and experience of those that in all ages 
have trusted in God, '* who have not fainted by the way, 
but, enduring, have obtained an eternal diadem." 

Wherefore, since we are compassed about with so 
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight 
and burden, and the sin and vanities that do so easily 
beset us; and with a constant, holy patience run our 
race, having our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and 
finisher of our faith, not minding what is behind ;" so 
shall we be delivered from every snare. No temptations 
shall gain us, no frowns shall scare us from Christ's 
Cross, and our blessed self denial : And honour, glory, 
immortality, and a crown of eternal life, shall recom- 
pense all our sufferings in the end.^ 

" O LORD GOD ! Thou lovest holiness, and purity 
is thy delight in the earth. Wherefore, I pray thee, make 
an end of sin, and finish transgression, and bring in thy 
everlasting righteousness to the souls of men, that thy 
poor creation may be delivered from the bondage it 
groans under, and the earth enjoy her sabbath again : 
That thy great name may be lifted up in all nations, and 
thy salvation renowned to the ends of the world. For 
thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever. 
Amen." 

k 2 Tim. iii. 12. 1 Pet. iv. 1 to 5. i Heb. xi. 1. Rom. v. 1 to 4. Phil 
iii. IS.Rom.ii. 7. /2 ^ A -timMfi 

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